Faith - what is it ?

‘Faith’ is a very important subject but has also been the object of great confusion caused by diverse interpretations. Bible defines faith as “being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Heb 11:1).

A boy flipped through television channels and listened to a message on faith. He then prayed telling God that he desired to have a bicycle if it was His will and at the time of His choosing. A few days went by and there was no sign of a bicycle, and he was wondering if he prayed right. Another day, he watched a different preacher on TV and then prayed a different prayer. He announced to God his need for a Blue bicycle of a certain brand and his desire that it be delivered at his doorstep within the next 48 hours, and then said that he was claiming that bicycle by faith. A few days went by and again there was no sign of a bicycle. He grew frustrated and watched a third preacher on TV. He then grew restless causing his mom to wonder what he was up to. At bedtime, his mom approached his bed and found him fast asleep. Underneath the bed he had put a statue of Jesus that he had picked from elsewhere within his house, and underneath the statue he had put a paper with a prayer written on it. It read “Dear Jesus, If you want to see your mother, give me my bicycle.”

Some people almost go to the extent of preaching that when you desire to own a car, if you strongly hope that you will have it, that is faith. You do not see the car physically, but with your spiritual eyes if you can see yourself owning that car, that is faith. Is that what the author of Hebrews has hinted at? If not, what are the things that we hope and do not see that we need to be sure and certain about?

Paul writes to the Corinthians, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” (I Cor 2:9). We do not see today the glorious eternity that God has in store for us. We do not see the glorious purposes that he accomplishes through us every day, when we measure our accomplishments through the world’s yardstick. Again Paul talks of God’s invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - in his letter to the Romans (Rom 1:20). We do not see his goodness, his love, his personal attention to each of us and his power. These are things that we do not see but we need to sure of and certain about.

God is loving and good. He spoke through Prophet Jeremiah, saying “I know the plans I have for you . . . plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jer 29:11). Elsewhere through the same prophet he said, “My eyes will watch over them for their good . . . I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them” (Jer 24:6).

I remember a time when I was learning to ride bicycle as a 10 years old. A cousin who was in college used to take me and my twin brother to a large ground on his bicycle, while pulling with one hand a small bicycle from a cycle rental shop around the street corner. While we learned to ride, he was always running behind us and after we had started cycling on our own, he still used to catch hold of the cycle to help us alight when we were done. One day he refused to help me alight and cried out that I should try getting down on my own. Despite frantic protests, he refused to budge. I then ran the cycle between two heaps of dust and got down safely but was fuming inside that he had withheld help and refused to speak to him for days. He humbly kept explaining and apologizing but I was adamant. When I now look back upon that incident, I understand that he had done that so that I could learn to be more complete as a bicycle rider. My little mind did not understand then.

It is the same with God. He allows certain trials and difficulties so that we grow and become more complete. We have faith if we are certain of God’s love and goodness, even when we are passing through life’s turbulences.

God is all-knowing and yet personal. He spoke through Prophet Isaiah, saying “I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come” (Isa 46:10a). We do not know our future, but he has our future in his hands.

A girl in New York became pregnant outside marriage and was let down by the man who caused her pregnancy. Since she was malnourished herself, she had to deliver a premature baby. The hospital that facilitated the delivery discharged her the same day due to paucity of beds. Having no food and not able to breastfeed her baby, she soon decided to go to work, leaving her newborn baby in the attic that was her home. When she returned from work in the evening, to her horror she found that a dog had ravaged her baby. So much had gone wrong in one life and when a city councilman was questioned how no one could check her plight, he responded, “Life is too busy and complicated for me to hear the cry of every person in my community. As a matter of fact, I struggle to find time to even hear the cries of my own family. If I had to listen to the cry of everyone in New York city, you may as well ask me to listen to every blade of grass growing and to the heartbeat of every squirrel. The noise would be deafening on the other side of silence”.

Our God not only knows the big picture, he also knows the details.  He is not overwhelmed by the volume of details or the cacophony of human cries. Jesus asked, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father” (Mat 10:29). Scores of people die of heatstroke in summer. If not a sparrow can fall without his permission, not one human life can be lost without his permission. He continued, “And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered”. Wow! Not just life, not even a strand of hair can be lost without his knowledge. He therefore reassured, “So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows”. He told us through Prophet Zechariah, “whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye” (Zec 2:8)

We have faith if we are certain that God’s knows our every circumstance and that the God who allowed it will also see us through, even when our problem looks big and appears to have no end in sight.

God has the power to accomplish his plans. He had spoken through the same Isaiah, saying “My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please” (Isa 46:10b). King David said of Him, “For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm” (Psa 33:9). He not only has good plans for us, he also has the power to fulfill them.

Imagine a spark developing in a flight flying at 30,000 feet above sea level. The pilot hurries to land the plane, establishing contact with the control tower of a nearby airport. As the plane lands, there are vehicles all around to attend to any emergency – fire engines, ambulances and police vans. As the doors are flung open, air gets sucked in, causing the flame to grow. The pilot and his crew – co-pilot, flight stewards and air hostesses – help children, aged ones and disabled passengers to come out even as able people help themselves. Finally after all passengers have been evacuated, the air hostesses, flight stewards and co-pilot come out. The pilot is the last one to emerge out, his uniform ablaze and fire fighters quickly roll him over in a blanket and whisk him away. Though the pilot had been noble in seeing every passenger out of the hazardous zone before saving himself, there are bound to be casualties depending on the age, amount of injury sustained, state of general health before the incident and the place they occupied inside the airplane. But he had done his best, and if you were to take your first flight the subsequent week and came to know that this very same heroic pilot is in charge of the cockpit, are you not sure to feel confident as you take your maiden flight?

Our God is not just good and loving, he is also able to protect those in his loving care from harm’s way. We have faith if we are sure that God is all-powerful and his inability to save is never a reason for our plight. If we do not see the solution we desired, it is just because he has a better way of solving our problem.

The Opposite of FAITH is FEAR. If we have faith, we will never be afraid when trials come our way. If we are afraid, we are not having faith.

In India, though parents often find a match for their son or daughter, it is inconceivable to think that the boy or the girl would leave the decision completely to the parents without even seeing the prospective bride or groom. One would not tell his or her parents , “I leave this completely to you; I do not want to see the girl or the boy (not even in a photo), as you know my mind, my taste and what type is an appropriate match for me”. I am not suggesting they should. I am saying it is understandable given that parents, though wiser by experience than their son/daughter are still not all-knowing and certainly not infallible. However, can we trust our Lord with such faith, saying “you know what is best for me”? “What I ask from my limited knowledge and wisdom may not be the best; you are the best person with your infinite knowledge and wisdom to determine what is best for me”.

“ Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Rom 12:1b,2). Let us have the faith that Jesus had. Let us be sure of what is ahead of us, and not be frightened by the dangers we see around us.