November 12

The Fruit Of The Spirit--Faith

Let us hold resolutely to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. — Heb 10:23 BSB

Faith is an attribute of the heart, more than the head. It is often intuitive in its first stirrings. You cannot argue someone into faith. Don’t think or reason too much about faith, or you may miss it. Like love, when you try to dissect it, its life and spirit vanish, leaving only faded remnants of what was once a thing of beauty. But if you focus on something worthy of faith, it will quietly grow and mature within you.

Faith has two main objects: a person and a statement. When you are powerfully drawn to a person, trusting them with your soul, your destiny, and your most precious possessions, with a deep sense of peace and certainty that all is safe with them—that is faith.

You may also be drawn to a statement, which appeals to your moral sense or resonates with your conscience. Or perhaps, as the utterance of someone you deeply trust, it commends itself to you for their sake. You accept the statement, rest on it, and believe it as fact, whether it has happened or will happen. You are as certain of it as though you had witnessed it with your own senses. That, too, is faith. "Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" (Hebrews 11:1, Weymouth).

We must distinguish between personal faith and "the faith once delivered to the saints." The former is the heart that accepts and the hand that reaches out to receive. The latter is the body of truth to be believed.

Out of faith springs faithfulness. Faith is trusting another; faithfulness is being trustworthy yourself. A faithful soul, one who can be fully relied on, is of great value. Meditating on God’s absolute faithfulness will deepen your faith. "Blessed is the one who trusts in Him."

Prayer

Give us faith in Your love that never tires or fades. Whatever else we doubt, may we never question the perfection of Your lovingkindness. Fulfill in us the good pleasure of Your will and the work of faith with power. Amen.