The Faith Perspective

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INTRODUCTION. We have written a book on faith, titled, Bible Basics on Walking by Faith. The concepts presented in Walking by Faith are Bible-based and—we believe—sound. We want to review some of the truths discussed in that book, but we want to go beyond these and see some new truths that have come to light as a result of recent studies. Look for new applications, even in the portion of this writing that is devoted to refreshment of teachings that were offered previously. This study will dig deeper into the process for exercising our faith under all conditions, and will show why it is so important to enrich and enlarge our faith as believers.

WHAT IS FAITH? In the context of the Christian life, faith is being persuaded that God has the power to do what He says He will do. This is what we see in Rom. 4:20-21, which speaks of Abraham’s faith, saying the following:

“Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.”

We apply this verse to our lives when we first believe that Christ died for our sins. And then we apply it when we believe that God will forgive the sins we commit after we become Christians (when we confess them), and that He will provide all we need to live the life of Christ. Faith is believing that God exists, and that the message of the gospel for salvation...AND the pronouncements of God’s ways for meaningful living...are true. We believe that He IS, and that we have a stake in His existence, because we have become His children through faith in Christ.

Faith is a lot of things, as we have seen in previous studies. It is fear of the Lord, occupation with Christ, acknowledgement of God, trust, resting in God’s promises, God-consciousness, submission to God’s will, waiting on the Lord, thankfulness, patience in trials, perseverance in tests, endurance in suffering, and being still before the Lord. It is belief, for starters, but it is also trust. Trust implies that we can relax, because we believe the truth that the One who promises will deliver what He has declared. We can turn ourselves over to God, with all our problems, our aspirations, our dreams, our hopes, and our intentions. We can relinquish control to Him, because we believe He loves us and will act in our best interests, even when we don’t SEE this in our immediate experience.

When faith has grown, it becomes “fear”, which is not “fright”, but is awe and reverence...extreme respect...for the Lord. Fear is strong faith. To reach the level of faith known as fear is to discover the rich blessings of God’s provisions, which—as we have learned very well—is much more than money or possessions. Ps. 31:19 says, “How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men.” Ps. 34:9 adds, “Fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing.”

And then there is a level of faith beyond fear, known as the “fullness of God”, which is based on an ABSOLUTE understanding of the LOVE of God. This is the penultimate spiritual experience, and leads to the best form of life available to human beings. This is the time when the gates of grace fly open, as they did for Job...a time when our lives foreshadow the richness and glory of heaven. Very few believers achieve this level of growth, but it is open to all.

LEARNING ABOUT TRUST. Is. 26:4 admonishes, “Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal.” It is God that we are to trust. And this is not just a suggestion; it is a command! Not to trust is a sin. Heb. 3:12 instructs us, “See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.” Sin is not always unbelief, but unbelief is always present when we sin, and unbelief itself IS sin. When we do not trust, we are sinning.

God wants, more than anything else, for us to trust Him. This is the greatest honor we can show Him, and the hardest thing for us to achieve as we live out our lives in a hostile and alien world. And we are not the first. The disciples themselves had trouble learning trust. This is what we see in Mark 4:35-41, which we quote here in its entirety:

“That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, ‘Let us go over to the other side.’ Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?’ He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?’ They were terrified and asked each other, ‘Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!’”

This is how the Lord must feel with us, at times: “Do you still have no faith?” Those of us who are studying and praying and learning and maturing are still confronted with events, temptations, distractions, deceptions, and tests that challenge us and bring us to this question: Where is my faith? Why can’t we just do what Peter called for when he gave the command: “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you”? (1 Pet. 5:7) We will learn this at some point, but the road to this understanding is long and rocky, and may require a number of intense storms before we really get it.

Faith is directed toward God, and not toward events or outcomes. So many times, we see the message, “believe and receive”, and immediately conjure up images of success, or a new relationship, or a specific acquisition, and we focus on the “gift” and not the “giver”. This is a colossal mistake. We can have no confidence that God will deliver the specific thing or condition that WE want. What HE wants is for us to understand that our confidence is to be in Him and His plan for us, and that the playing out of His will has the greatest prospect for success according to HIS thinking, and not according to our own dim-witted and selfish thinking. We come to Him in faith because we want more of Him and His stuff, not the stuff of the world. We want only God!

When we come to God, it is because we believe He IS God, and that coming to Him will make a difference in our lives. Heb. 11:6 frames this idea very well, saying, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” The kind of faith that PLEASES God, is faith that REALLY believes that God is there, AND that HE REWARDS SEEKERS! When we come to God, we do so believing, not only that He is real, but that He will enrich our lives in the truest sense...BECAUSE WE WANT MORE OF HIM! The rewards do not come from seeking the rewards themselves; they come from seeking HIM.

It is common for us to think of our lives in terms of the circumstances that surround us. Often, our awareness of God’s presence in our lives is hampered by our comparing what we see and possess with what we imagine is possible...i.e., what we WANT...not what God wants us to have. His final objective is to boost us (or “boot” us) toward greater spirituality and maturity. But we tend to get buried, either in what we see that we want and do not have, or by an onslaught of trying events that bombard us. Often, we are frustrated, disappointed, or frantic. This is frequently our attitude, one of unbelief and non-trust. But we must not be discouraged when our faith is flagging, because—if we consistently follow God’s pathway to growth—our faith will get stronger at some point...and we will KNOW IT!

Is. 8:12-14a exhorts us to direct our “fear” toward the Almighty, as follows:

“Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread, and he will be a sanctuary...”

It is easy to believe in the things we see, and to discount the things we don’t. This is why there is such a great need for a renewed and transformed mode of thinking, to bring us into the divine view-point regarding life and purpose. Is. 8:16-17 follows up the passage just quoted, saying, “I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob. I will put my trust in him.” Waiting and trusting...this is what we are to learn.  

Prov. 3:5 calls for us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your understanding...” When we can learn to trust God with all our hearts, and quit thinking that all the answers are in the world, or within us, as Plato believed, then we can turn to the clear directions of Scripture for reliable substance...and sustenance. When we are uncertain about the content and flow of our lives, we can be sure of one thing: Our faith needs to grow.

God has given us all we need to reach a full and constant faith. 2 Pet. 1:2-4 sums it up well, saying:

“Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”

Notice the repetition of the word “knowledge”. This knowledge comes through intensive study. We have studied “studying” in all our previous writings and have thoroughly documented the need for us to know God’s ways for living as they are presented in His Word. We know that we grow by learning. And that when we “know” who God really is, we will be able to “participate in the divine nature” and we will live in a spiritual realm, more than in the world, thus avoiding all the snares and traps set for us by the world. When we have this perspective, we will know that it is God who provides for us and sustains us, and we will know that our times belong to Him. Ps. 31:14-15 assures us of this, saying, “But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God.’ My times are in your hands; deliver me from my enemies and from those who pursue me.” Seasons, events, relationships, promotions, and even death are in God’s hands. This is why we must study, so that we will learn to trust Him. When we know Him, we will know that we can trust Him.

Is. 46:46 gives us this: “I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” God is the One who sustains; there is no other. This is what we are to believe. There is no participation in God’s sustaining grace apart from faith. 1 John 5:4b says, “This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.” There is no victory or sustaining grace apart from faith in the ONE who brings it. Victory rests with the Lord, as per Prov. 21:31, which says, “The horse is made ready for battle, but victory rests with the Lord.” And when we trust this, He will carry us, as we see in Deut. 1:29-31:

“Then I said to you, ‘Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the wilderness. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place’.”

To actuate the effects of God’s instructions and promises, we must BELIEVE them. There is power in the techniques and promises which God offers, but these are useless to us if we do not, first of all, learn them, and secondly, if we do not believe them. We must exercise faith within two aspects of our curriculum, the first being the techniques, and the second being the promises. The techniques include confession of sins, prayer, study of the Word, enduring God’s training, and exchanging mutual edification through the gifts of fellow believers. The promises are those things which God assures us He will provide. God is faithful, but almost all provisions have conditions which must be met for them to be released. Techniques precede promises.

When we have faith, we will have confidence that we can approach God, as per Eph. 3:12, which says, “In him and through faith in him we may approach God with confidence.” When we have faith, we will be assured that God loves and cares for us, and that He will give us what we need to live for Him. He will help us, as we see in 2 Chron. 14:11-12, as follows:

“Then Asa called to the Lord his God and said, ‘Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. Lord, you are our God; do not let mere mortals prevail against you.’ The Lord struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah. The Cushites fled...”

He will help us when we rely on Him. The condition for help, is faith. Without faith, there will be no help, but with faith, anything is possible (Luke 1:37).

Everything is possible with God, because He has the POWER to do whatever He wants. Eph. 1:18-19 expresses it this way:

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength...”

By being “enlightened”, or taught, we can know the kind of faith to which we are “called”, and the abundant resources which are available to us through the immense power of the One in whom we believe. Through our faith, we activate the power within us, which becomes the “working of his mighty strength”. :That is the work that counts...His work. When God is at work, competence is evident. 2 Cor. 3:5 shows the source of competence for Christian living: “Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.” God fulfills every good purpose by HIS POWER. 2 Thess. 1:11 repeats this concept:

“With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.”

God “fulfills every good purpose” Himself; our part is to have “faith” in Him...to trust Him. Everything left with God will turn out good. He knows what He’s doing, and everything He does is for our benefit and growth.

Faith is drawn to the power. We believe and trust when we see that the force we rely on is infinite, but not only that, it is benevolent. God WANTS to help us. We just have to understand what it is He wants, and learn how we access what He wants us to have. Col. 1:9-11 describes this power that we can trust, and tells us how we acquire it, as follows:

“For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.”

God wants us to trust Him, and He knows that we cannot trust in something we do not know about. We must KNOW ABOUT HIM, so we can know how much we can TRUST HIM. This is why we study and grow. When we finally get this, and move up through “fear”, followed by “fullness”, we will be able to “live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way”. And great “fruit” will be borne by and for Him.

God has the power to fulfill what He promises, and we can believe what He says. Num. 23:19 confirms this, saying the following: “God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” God will not withhold any good thing from a believer who has learned to trust in Him. His word is good; when He says it, He stands behind it. We can count on it.

INCREASING FAITH. Saving faith does not alter, grow, or change in any way. It is a one-time, once-for-all expression of belief in the saving grace and work of Jesus Christ...that He is risen, and that He finished the work of paying for our rebellion and sin. We believe in Him, and thereby we are eternally saved. Thus begins the Christian life. Ah, but there’s the rub. We are helpless infants at that point, even though there are those standing around who cheer us on, who say we now have the “victory”, and who encourage us to “go get ‘em”! But neither they nor we recognize that—at the beginning—we are useless. This is the time to grow and mature and prepare for big-boy living...not time to get out in the world, or the “church”, or to start trying to be productive. We are not ready to do anything but eat and grow. We start from scratch, and all we can do at this stage is LEARN.

Initial faith—the faith that activates saving grace—is effective at the time we are saved. But faith has another dimension, which arises after we are saved. This is operational faith, which we carry into our lives as God’s children. Our focus in this writing is on operational faith, since our (my personal) gift and passion is to help believers grow. We must never be discouraged. Operational faith can increase; you can change the way you respond to life...by degrees and over time. It is our objective to build up as much faith as we can in the time we are given. Growing this faith is largely based on understanding of God’s truths, especially those that tell us how great God is, how He expects us to live, and how He provides for our lives.

It is conclusive: After we are saved we are to live and grow. And the mark of maturity is strong faith. Col. 2:6-7 says this very thing:

“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness”.

After we are born again, we are to then to LIVE in Christ, or live by the power of the Holy Spirit, which is facilitated by being strengthened in the “faith”, which in this case means the body of truth that God has given us for living. We are to have our understanding increased, so that we can LIVE in Christ. We are in union with Him as a result of saving faith, and then we conduct our lives in Him by coming to KNOW Him, which causes us to become “rooted and built up” in Him. Then we will overflow with “thankfulness”, which connotes fear, trust, acknowledgement, humility, and God consciousness.

Repeating an earlier point, because it is important, we are built up by “hearing” the Word, and believing it, as Rom. 10:17 declares: “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” We are to enter an intensive study of the Word of God, immediately upon being saved. We must go through “basic training”, and then move on to more complex truths for living. Heb. 6:1a says, “Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity...” This begins a life-long process of study-review-study which will move us toward a greater faith, and equip us to fight the battle which has been drawn before us. In 1 Tim. 1:18-19, Paul advised the young pastor:

“Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith.”

When we absorb truth, we will become equipped to “fight the good fight” by continuing to believe God’s Word in the face of gale-force winds that blow against it. We can then “hold on to our faith” and operate with a clean conscience. Here we see the two sturdy pillars of our belief system: 1) faith based on assimilation of the truth, and 2) a clean conscience, based on the confession of our sins. These AVERT THE SHIPWRECK of our faith.

Continuing in the vein of “shipwrecks”, we are learning that, with constant faith and continual confession, we can stay afloat in the storms of life. Paul had been in shipwrecks himself, as we see in Acts 27:22-26, which gives an account of one. When the ship started to go down, Paul declared the following to those on board:

“But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’ So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.”

Regardless of the reason, when your ship starts to go down is the time to trust. This is the time of challenge, when believing God and His Word is crucial. Paul KNEW God and His truths, so he was prepared for this challenge. And he trusted God before, during, and after the destruction of the ship and his being dumped into a stormy sea. That is the kind of faith we want, because part of the increase of our faith involves challenges like the shipwreck of Paul. Our ship may go down, the body may sink, and the world may swamp us, but our FAITH does not have to shipwreck.

We learn and build our faith through understanding of God’s Word, and then we refine our grasp of His truths through the endurance of storms in life. We LEARN through tests and trials, by seeing God’s hand at work in all kinds of circumstances. 1 Pet. 1:6-7 frames this for us, saying the following:

“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

Hardship increases faith. This is why James 1:2-4 says that trials develop “perseverance” (faith), as follows:

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

To bring our faith to the level of “not lacking anything” will require the training that God provides to strengthen our faith. There is no shortcut to this kind of growth, and those that sign up for God’s training are in for a “bumpy night”. But there is no other way to “finish the work”.

The perspective of suffering to increase our faith is that of the long view. We are not focused on the world and our time in it, so much as we are the eternal place of an infinite God and our future with Him. 2 Cor. 4:17-18 confirms this notion, saying this:

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

The suffering we are doing now to build and strengthen our faith is nothing compared to the “glory” of God’s eternal state. So suffering has an immediate benefit, in that it increases our faith, but it is also securing for us greater rewards in heaven, as we endure them. Our most immediate gains, though, are here and now. Our object is to increase our faith, while we have time.

When suffering comes, we can know that God is giving us the opportunity to grow. That is why we are called on repeatedly to “rejoice” when hard times come, no matter what they are. Our focus is to be on God and not on our circumstances. Our faith is in what we do NOT see, rather than what is crashing down on top of us. Hab. 3:17-18 says this:

“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.”

As we begin to mature, we will come to understand and experience the joy and contentment that only God can give, regardless of conditions around us. When we learn to trust, even in tragedy, we will know that we are maturing. We will know the following from verse 19: “The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.” Painful setbacks and scary events plague the growing believer. And we are completely vulnerable and fragile. In the end, there is nothing for us to do but to trust God.

I am moved by the plight of African slaves in our country’s history. Their hardship provides an excellent analogy, perhaps an example, of the endurance and faith of a people operating under the worst kind of mistreatment and misery. Perhaps no single group in modern history has been more single-minded in its faith and dependence on the Lord than were these slaves, who toiled night and day at the whimsical mercy of their masters. Yet many of them lived in inner peace, because they were blessed by their God, who gave them understanding and strength in the middle of their suffering. They listened to their masters read the Bible, and encoded what they heard into spiritual songs. And they believed the Word. I opine that their greatest joy and victory was internal, where they worshipped their Lord, and prayed to Him and trusted Him through everything that happened. Their faith is a model for all of us, including their descendents. It seems to me that not enough has been spoken in behalf of the spiritual walk of these slaves. And I believe they ultimately found freedom because of their faith.

Whenever suffering takes place as part of God’s training, we are instructed to keep on trusting. It is easy to become glib about what we should do when suffering comes. We have developed all kinds of phrases and clauses that are supposed to assuage the pain; but these have become worn and trite. An entire jargon of “Christianese” has evolved, with the result that the severity, as well as the purpose, of suffering has been minimized and superficialized. The faith we need is not the faith of public bravado, but the faith we hold in our hearts and in our hands as we go through the vicissitudes of daily Christian life.

We have many questions about this faith: What does faith “feel” like...on the inside? What happens when we “believe” and express faith? Why is it so hard to keep faith steady in the storm? We are searching for answers.

It is the recognized norm of natural human behavior to detect and avoid danger and threat, so how can we encounter setbacks, disappointments, attacks, mistreatment, deprivation, pain, or bad news of any kind, often with no end in sight, and not react in some defensive manner? How can we say, “I am at peace?” How can we have confidence, when we see no relief and no solution? It may be easy to speak of tragedy when it is in the abstract, or to be insouciant when misfortune belongs to someone else, rather than us. But when it is personal and fully felt, it cannot be dismissed like some fictional drama, because we feel the pain! Yet we must “trust”. This is difficult, and if you have reached this level of intensity in God’s training program, you know what I mean.

It is not easy to be a GROWING CHRISTIAN, and it cannot be taken lightly as a “nice option”, because it is not without pain. The end result of maturity and the blessings that come with growth will be fantastic in the long run, but getting there is a real grind that requires maximum attention to study and prayer and our walk in the Spirit. I know the passage that says God won’t “test” us “beyond our limits”, but that limit is an undetermined value, and we cannot assume that our “limit” precludes severity. If we want more of God, to get closer to Him, we must be willing to endure whatever suffering it takes to get us there. There are no shortcuts in God’s training program.

God will provide opportunities for advancement that will bring maximum growth and strengthening, but these translate into considerable pain and pressure. This does not happen with Christians who just “dabble” at Christian living, but is reserved for the serious student, the true seeker, the real “thirsty deer” who pants after the waters of the Holy Spirit. The fact that challenges arrive in your life means that you have the privilege of being trained by God, so that your faith will become strong and steady for all occasions.

As you progress into higher levels of maturity, you will learn “fear of the Lord”, which brings special blessings. Ultimately, you have the potential to reach the “fullness of God”, which is the apex of our intimacy with God while we are still alive on earth. When we reach that point, God’s provision will flow into our lives beyond anything we ever imagined, and God’s will and purpose will be fulfilled in and through us.

Do you want it? If so, buckle up, because training is in the cards. You must sit at the feet of a teaching pastor, and/or get regular instruction in the Word from a reliable source. You must stay “pure” through humility and confession. You must pray constantly regarding all things, especially that you will acquire wisdom as you learn and grow. And you must access the gifts of fellow believers to allow them to contribute to your growth, as you offer your gifted service to them. And finally, you must endure God’s training, which brings all processes together in a fast-pace, high-pressure course that will stretch you to the limit. And in the end, you will know what God wants you to see: His GRACE! (Please read the book, God’s Training Program for Believers, available by free download at this website.)

We want to clarify: “Enduring” is not the same as “stoicism”, where suffering is grimly borne. Nor is it denial of what is happening. Enduring means to go through the rigors of God’s training with eyes wide open, USING ALL THE ASSETS HE MAKES AVAILABLE TO HELP US THROUGH IT.  That is how we train. When the test comes, we access life-preservers and other resources for relief, and we get through it. But to say that God’s way for us to get through suffering is by “grinning and bearing it” WITHOUT THE COMFORT AND RELIEF OF GRACE...is ludicrous! GOD OFFERS RELIEF. Ps. 121:2 says, “My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” Ps. 18:2 adds this:

“The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.”

It is legitimate for us to ask for relief from suffering and testing. This is why Jesus modeled a prayer that included this: “Deliver us from the evil one” (Matt. 5:13b). And this is why Paul prayed three times—pleaded—that God would remove a “thorn” from his side. (2 Cor. 12:7-10).  And this is why prayer is such an important piece in the armor with which we resist Satan and the world, as we see in Eph. 6, where the armor description is consummated with this:  “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests” (Eph. 6:18a). And this is why James said, in James 5:13a, “Is any one of you in trouble [literally, “Is any one of you suffering?”] He should pray.”

As we see, there are considerable passages in Scripture that make it clear that we can pray for relief from suffering. 2 Cor. 1:3-4a says this: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles...” And Isaiah tells us of streams in the desert which God provides for His children, as we see in the following:

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.”

Even in the desert, as we saw with the Israelites in the wilderness, God will provide. Grace is never far away, as Paul learned so well. The following describes what he went through as he was learning about grace for training:

“2 Cor. 11:24-32—Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying. In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me. But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands.”

God loves us. His object is not to make us suffer for suffering’s sake, but to get us focused on Him, and to get us to understand fully that we can trust His plan, purpose, power, and provision. That is why He offers help for us as we train. Ps. 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble.” Ps. 120:1 adds, “I call on the Lord in my distress, and he answers me.” And finally, Nahum 1:7 promises, “The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him...” He brings or allows suffering, but He will be our refuge, if we turn to Him for relief in the time of trial, rather than to the world, or to our own solutions.

We have shown so far that Bible study and God’s training bring about our movement toward maturity. We want to add one last thing, which contributes greatly to our growth. It involves the mutual exchange of benefits among believers through interactive edification. Each believer is given one or more gifts to enable him to contribute to the growth of other believers, as they share their gifts with them. The interchange of services among believers is the greatest expression of love, apart from dying for each other, and most of our growth objective should center on the refinement and exercise of our gifts in behalf of others. Keep in mind, gifts come from the Holy Spirit, and it is the Spirit who will work them through us. That is the function and purpose of spirituality. He bears His fruit through us by using our gifts.

Growth begins with faith, and as faith increases, we are carried upward through manifestations of that faith, the most significant of which, as we are seeing, is the operation of our gifts, or loving service to others. This progression of faith is seen in 2 Pet. 1:5, which says,

“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.”

We start small and build, and—along with maturity—we develop our gifts, which operate as extensions of “love”. And this is a great resource for all of us...if we place ourselves with other believers who are growing as we are...so we can benefit from their gifts, as they benefit from ours. When we get it right, everything we do with other believers will take place with edification as a backdrop, as per Eph. 4:29, which says, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouth, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” Edifying each other is the most important thing we can do.

If you do not know your gift, do not fret. Grow...and trust...and wait...you will know it at some point. And if you operate in the power of the Holy Spirit, it is inevitable that your gift will become fully operational, and that your gift will help produce growth in others. Paul spoke of the operation of his gift in 2 Cor. 4:13, and related it to his faith. Here is what this verse says: “It is written: ‘I believed; therefore I have spoken.’ With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak.” When faith is functioning, our gifts will operate; and the stronger our faith, the greater our production.

It is a given, then: Gifts are useful as catalysts to maturity. Eph. 4:11-15 frames this well, as follows:

“So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.”

The working of God’s gifts prepares us for works of service, which revolves around teaching each other “the truth in love”. As mature believers help other believers toward maturity, we all fulfill the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20), and God is glorified in the following ways:

1.      With mature and gifted believers as witnesses, unbelievers change their minds about Jesus Christ and become believers.

2.      As believers edify one another, mutual symbiosis and growth occur.

3.      Angels see believers trusting God, which glorifies Him.

Our biggest job—and the outcome of maturity—is the operation of our gifts in edifying each other. This leads to the attainment of the “whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13), which is the ultimate spiritual experience. The fullness of Christ, also known as the fullness of God, consists of these: God’s love, joy, and peace; surrender to the power of the Holy Spirit; complete commitment to the plan and will of God; and absolute understanding of the love of God.

As faith grows, spiritual operations will increase, especially that of love, which enfolds the operation of gifts. 2 Thess. 1:3 says, “We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.” This is when we begin to see the “service” of our “faith”: when it starts to contribute to the growth of others. And once we get into the swing of it, the operation of our gifts even facilitates our own growth. This is what we see in 1 Tim. 3:13, which says, “Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.” So when we exercise our gifts, we strengthen ourselves. (For more on specific gifts, see the chapter, “Gifts”, in the book, Bible Basics on Maturity, available at this website.)

Growth is a long and arduous process, but if we are going to see meaning and production in our Christian lives...if we are going to be real players in the “game”...we can’t sit on the sidelines after we are saved. Salvation is a beginning...not the end. We are just getting started, and our goal is to reach the “fullness of God”, as per our previous article, “Getting the Fullness of God”. In that study we explained the meaning of Eph. 3:14-21, our source for the concept of the “fullness of God”. We offer here a brief analysis, phrase by phrase, to see once again this fullness, which is the final destiny in our journey to maturity. Read Eph. 4:14-21 and then peruse the following:

1.      “...strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being...” (v. 16) This is being “filled with the Spirit”.

2.      “...so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” (v. 17) When Christ “dwells” in our hearts “through faith”, He not only occupies our hearts...He manages them. When we “walk in the Spirit”, Christ manages our hearts. This is identical to the control of the Spirit, which is accomplished through an ongoing faith.

3.       “...being rooted and established in love...” (v. 17) suggests the direction and purpose of maturity, which is the growth, not only of faith, but love. This is divine love, the product of our walk with the Holy Spirit.

4.      “...may have power...” means “may receive power” (v. 18), which calls for us to access grace assets and techniques so that we will be operating in the power of the Holy Spirit.

5.      “...to grasp how wide...is the love of Christ...” (v. 18) shows us the thing we must understand initially, which includes a full knowledge of mercy and grace.

6.      “...to know this love that surpasses knowledge...” (v. 19) gives us the final step to attaining the “fullness of God”, which is to gain ABSOLUTE KNOWLEDGE of God’s love. This level of maturity moves beyond techniques and training, and into FULL awareness of God.

7.      “...that you may be filled to the measure [limit] of all the fullness of God...” (v. 19) shows the destiny for all true seekers of God. The “fullness of God” is the penultimate experience we can have with God this side of heaven. This is the place of rest, blessing, peace, and—at some point—reduced Satanic encroachment.

8.      “...do immeasurably more” (v. 20) tells us the extent of God’s work and provision for believers who have received the “fullness of God”. It is beyond imagination!

We must not settle for less than God’s best. We must commit to growth and service, and seek to know the full extent of His love and grace.

WALKING BY FAITH. When we say, “walking by faith”, this implies “walking by the Spirit”, or “walking in the truth”, as well, even though the application for these differs slightly from one to the next. We will see these as basically identical for the purposes of this study.

We have talked about growth, and have seen that the main benefit of rigorous divine training is the advancement of our maturity. Our topic is “faith”, and the point of growing is to increase the strength and consistency of our faith. There is a strong link between our training by tests and trials, and maturity, which culminates as a walk by means of the Holy Spirit’s power. Both training and “walking” are tied to faith, and each requires its own form of trusting. The object of faith in training is to prevent the events that happen from derailing that faith. If we trust through training, our spiritual walk will not be disrupted, but if we falter under pressure, our walk will be hampered, and we will end up discounting God’s love and may even become bitter toward life.

When suffering comes, how many believers say at that point, “God is great!”? Not enough. It is easy to praise and give thanks when things go well, but it is when things seem to be falling apart that we are challenged to continue believing that everything is working together for our good. On the other hand, when our faith is strong enough to withstand the onslaught of bad news and difficult experiences, we will continue our search for God and our trust in His goodness, even in the middle of the storm. We must understand, and this is not easy to announce: The Christian life is HARD. But endurance will lead to God’s fullness, and then our faith and fellowship will be constant and strong, and God’s blessings and peace will be multiplied.

We have studied previously the difference between being “filled with the Spirit” and “walking by the Spirit”. When we are cleansed through humility and confession, we qualify for the empowerment of the Spirit’s “filling”. After we are filled, we will be “walking in the power of the Spirit” commensurate with the level of our faith. If we are new or immature believers, the influence of the Spirit will fade quickly and we will be back in a pattern of sin or legalism. But if faith is getting stronger, the filling will continue, and we will be “walking in the Spirit”. Put simply, the continuation of the filling of the Spirit will depend on our maturity level...or the strength of our faith. As faith gets stronger, our walk in the Spirit will be sustained for longer periods without interruption. At every opportunity, the evil forces that invade with sin and self-righteousness challenge this faith, and bring us under the control of the flesh and leave us in a state of carnality. This is why it is so important to stay “clean” through constant confession, until we mature, when the frequency of confession will be reduced. This is when our faith will be stronger, thus holding us “in the Spirit” and keeping us away from sin.

Our goal is to develop a faith that is strong enough to keep us trusting under all circumstances, so that we maintain a walk in the Spirit, even in the middle of tragedy or misfortune. Strong faith keeps us close to God, where we find strength for living and confirmation that our faith is well-placed. Heb. 10:22 says, “...let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” The words “sincere”, “assurance”, and “faith” all connote a heart that trusts in the God that dwells within us. “Having our hearts sprinkled” and “having our bodies washed with pure water” are clear references to being cleansed by the blood of Christ and the washing of the Holy Spirit. This is the forgiveness that comes to believers through grace by the confession of our sins. Here are some verses that confirm the validity and veracity of this process:

1.      1 John 1:9—If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

2.      Heb. 9:14a—How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences...

3.      John 13:8-10a—“No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” Jesus answered, “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean.”

4.      Ps. 51:2—Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

Being washed or cleansed is a process offered to believers only through the confession of sins. Their “bodies” have been washed, but—as sin occurs in their lives—their feet need to be washed. When we are washed, we are cleansed, pure...blameless. 1 Thess. 5:23 says, “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify [cleanse] you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Blamelessness comes, not through a change in demeanor, though with maturity that too will come, but through confession. We are blameless to the degree that we are forgiven. When we are clean, and are in fellowship and controlled by the Spirit, faith can function and grow. So—first things first: Wash your feet!

When we are clean, and are taking advantage of that time of fellowship by studying, praying, etc., we will be operating in faith, or “walking by faith”. Gal. 3:11 says the “just”, or those who are clean, will “live by faith”. Living by faith is walking by faith, and faith is directed toward God, and not toward the conditions we see around us. 2 Cor. 5:7 says, “We live by faith, not by sight.” Things can look bad to our eyes, but faith focuses on God, who sees beyond circumstances and any period of suffering, to that time when we will be mature, walking in a faith that sees what He sees.

When faith is strong, our production will be great. 1 Tim. 1:4b says, “...nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. These promote controversies rather than God’s work—which is by faith.” God’s WORK is by FAITH (Note: not EFFORT). Our goal is to stay clean, so faith can grow, to enable us to walk in the Spirit. That’s the summary of all our teaching and writing: Confess to stay clean, as we grow to trust more, so we can produce holy “good” through the power of the indwelling Spirit. This is the circuit we follow; this is the road we walk. There’s no other way.

The purpose of “walking by faith”, then, is to “walk in the Spirit”. Look at Phil. 2:1 and 2 Cor. 13:14, which both link faith with fellowship. 1 Pet. 1:22 wraps up the outcome of fellowship and spiritual power: “Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.” When we are purified by following God’s methods for cleansing, and walk in the love of the Holy Spirit (same as “walking in the Spirit”), then we can love one another deeply, primarily through the operation of our gifts, as we have seen. The result is the “fruit of the Spirit”.

I hope this is beginning to crystallize for you. We will be filled with joy and peace and love, for as long as we are controlled by the Holy Spirit, which goes on as long as we are clean and walking by faith. With faith, the filling of the Spirit is perpetuated, thus becoming a “walk”. Rom. 15:13 expresses Paul’s prayer for the Romans: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” It doesn’t get much clearer that this: God’s joy and peace, understood as signals for fellowship, are sustained by “trust”, which causes an “overflow of hope”. This overflowing hope is advanced faith and productivity, which generates divine good in the “power of the Holy Spirit”. Faith and spiritual productivity are inextricably linked.

For further confirmation that faith and our walk in the Spirit are linked, we offer the following proof texts to establish this point:

1.      Eph. 6:23—“Peace to the brothers, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” The phrase “love with faith” links fellowship with faith. Faith is added to fellowship, because that is what will sustain fellowship and turning it into a “walk by the Spirit”.

2.      2 Cor. 1:24—“Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm.” The term “joy” is another signal for fellowship, which must exist for faith to be operable and growing.

3.      Eph. 3:16-17—“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in you inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” We are “strengthened with power through His Spirit” when we are in fellowship. Then Christ can “dwell in our hearts”, or dominate our walk, “through faith”.

4.      Rom. 15:13a—“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him...” We saw this verse earlier, and use it here to reinforce the notion that fellowship is sustained by trust.

5.      Gal. 2:20—“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” The life of Christ, indwelling us now as His Spirit, is lived out through us, consistent with our ongoing faith in Him.

The filling of the Spirit is perpetuated by faith. Faith leads to empowerment by the Spirit. When the Holy Spirit is in command within us, His fruit will be produced, as seen in Gal. 2:22-23a—“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” These will be seen IN US when we walk by faith and thus by His Spirit.

IMPACT OF FAITH. “Without faith it is impossible to please God...” So says Heb. 11:6a. Because faith is essential to God’s pleasure, He scans for it constantly in believers, and He spots even the most minute atom of it. Matt. 17:20 tells us that “...if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” We must have faith to please God, and it doesn’t take much. We use such a small portion of our faith toward God, because—by the time it gets spread around to the detractors—demons, the world, and ourselves—there is little left for God. Our objective, once again, is to grow as much faith TOWARD GOD as we can.

Faith provides many positive effects. One of them is that—as long as we are believing—we will have the confidence we need to come before God. Job 13:15 says, “Though he slay me, yet will I hope [trust] in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face. Indeed, this will turn out for my deliverance, for no godless man would dare come before him!”

Another positive effect of faith is that it provides a breastplate for our hearts, which serves as protection from evil as we exercise service toward fellow believers. 1 Thess. 5:8 says, “But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate...” Faith and love, which travel together, protect us and keep us in the “daylight”. Faith is a shield, according to Eph. 6:16, part of the armor of God that we are to “put on” (Eph. 6:11). Protection comes from the “strength and power of the Lord”, (Eph. 6:10), which is accessed by faith.

The effects of faith are so significant that faith stands alone as the means for accessing grace assets and provisions, including the love of God. Gal. 5:6b says, “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” Faith activates grace, which produces love. This in turn prompts our gifts, thus producing the fruit of the Spirit. This is why we BUILD our faith by adding the following one at a time, as we saw before: goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and—ultimately—love (2 Pet. 1:5). Love is an asset of grace and an effect of faith.

One of the outcroppings of faith is that prayers are answered. If we are in fellowship with the Holy Spirit, and are trusting the One to whom we pray, our prayers will be answered positively. This does not mean we always get what we ask for, but that the outcome of all events will be the best that is possible...within God’s plan and according to His will. As we mature, our prayers will morph to match what God wants us to have. As prayers are refined, we pray, according to His will, and—in the end—we actually be able to articulate His will through our prayers. When we reach a high level of maturity, our prayers are so in tune with God that we pray for the exact thing God wants us to have. (See Bible Basics on Being Devoted to Prayer.) James 5:15a reports this: “The prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up.” The prayer of faith will get results!

Righteousness also comes by faith. This includes both the eternal righteousness of Christ, with which we are imputed at salvation, and the experiential righteousness that comes from the control of the Spirit when we are in fellowship as believers. Rom. 1:17 says, “For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith’.” Faith generates righteousness, because faith relinquishes God’s work to the Holy Spirit. It is our bodies that are used as His tools when this is done, but the source, origin, energy, and direction for it come from the Holy Spirit.

Faith gives us access to grace, which enables us to stand in peace (i.e., in fellowship), regardless of external conditions. Rom. 5:1-3 describes the process this way:

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith [saved], we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.”

As we access grace for living, we experience the peace and joy that comes with constant communion with the Spirit of Christ. As we mature, this state of being becomes the norm. This privilege is for those who have faith for living, and are thus operating under grace for living. We can stand in grace, because we walk by faith.

As we have stated repeatedly, the function of our gifts is a big part of each believer’s life, as well as the life of the body of Christ, or the church. Rom. 12:2-6 shows how understanding, grace, faith, and gifts are linked, saying the following:

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing, and perfect will. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”

Grace designs and guides all spiritual operations, and faith is the receiver for grace. The more our faith is tuned to grace, the better the signal for grace will be. In other words, the more we believe the truths from the Word, the greater we will see our faith become; and the greater our faith is, the more grace we will see. The element that increases our faith is understanding and wisdom, and the medium for this increase is the Holy Spirit. The Spirit causes the nutrients of the Word to be assimilated into the heart, where it mutates into greater faith. In a sense, the Holy Spirit helps us “digest” the nourishing content of the Word. Faith, then, comes to the one who wants the truth, seeks for it, acquires it, and believes it. The results will be more grace, and—as the passage above suggests—the meaningful operation of our gifts and the fulfillment of God’s will.

We are to come to God with FAITH, assured that He will honor that faith, and that He will meet faith with grace. Faith calls up grace. Heb. 4:16 says, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” For this to happen, we must follow the steps we have learned, suggested in the following: When we are cleansed through humility and confession, have been praying, are frequently feeding on God’s Word, and are trusting Him, we can enter the “Most Holy Place”, which is where the throne of God is. There we can “receive mercy”, an expression of grace-forgiveness; and this will enable us to “find grace”, which will serve us IN OUR TIME OF NEED! Faith is the ticket.

GOD’S PERSPECTIVE AND OUR FAITH. We have seen in previous studies all the alternatives to faith, such as walking in the flesh, trusting in ourselves, relying on the world, and even living in fear and dread. The focus in this study has been on examining the correct objects of our faith, including Jesus Christ, the Word, and the Holy Spirit. The kind of faith we have emphasized here is a minute-by-minute trust in the goodness of God...that He will provide everything we need for our physical and material lives, and that He will equip us for spiritual growth and production.

Our tendency is to see faith as a catalyst for immediate change and improvement in our earthly conditions. But God’s perspective and plan are farther-reaching; they are long-term, and big-picture. We tend to look to God for money, health, good relationships, etc., which are legitimate and immediate concerns...and God is certainly involved in all of these aspects of our lives. But God’s greatest provisions for us are for our spiritual consumption and benefit, with assurances that all other concerns will “take care of themselves”.

We must understand God’s eternal view. Unfortunately, our corporeal outlook tends to cause us, even those of us who are growing, to see faith as a process related more to “tangible-world” outcomes than the achievement of spiritual goals. There are, then, two perspectives of the function and purpose of faith: 1) God’s, and 2) that of humans who are preoccupied with circumstances. When faith is directed toward God, and continues to increase, it will eventually cause our view to become like His.

When King Jehoshaphat recognized that he was outmanned and outgunned as he faced the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, he chose to adopt a view not confirmed in his senses, but only in his own faith system. Here is what he said in a prayer regarding this confrontation with a formidable enemy: “O our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you” (2 Chron. 20:12). His focus was on God’s power, not his own. He was looking at God, and not His dilemma. He trusted God, and not the odds, which were clearly stacked against him. God’s perspective was relayed in verse 17:

“You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.”

When we learn God’s perspective, our eyes will be on Him and not the problem we face. Even if the problem continues or worsens, grace will sustain us and bless us, if our faith persists. Reminding ourselves of Heb. 11:1, we recall that faith is defined as “being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” The issue is this: Will we trust our sight, or will we trust God? We are well-practiced in the certainty of what we SEE. But faith is BEING SURE WITHOUT SEEING. Faith is NOT a sensual experience. God’s plan, His love, His grace and mercy...even His forgiveness...are not experienced through the senses. Many churches nowadays emphasize the body and emotions as the center of spiritual engagement, but that is not where faith occurs. Faith deals with the unseen and the unsensed, and is a condition that operates within our hearts.

God’s workings will be hard for us to see and understand, until we reach a level of super-maturity, when we can come to know His fullness, and have absolute knowledge of His love. Until then, however, even though truth and grace will always be there, we won’t always see them, because we are measuring God’s reality and value by what we SEE WITH OUR EYES, rather than what we SEE THROUGH THE EYES OF OUR SPIRITUAL HEARTS (see Eph. 1:18).

As we have seen in previous writings, and see once again in this one, study, training, and growth give us new lenses through which to view our lives. When we reach higher levels of maturity, we will see life from the divine perspective. Such a view is hard-won, and takes an immense desire for God and His truth. This kind of perspective seems to be rare, but we are assured that it is open to us all. We can all acquire the clarity and acumen of the divine viewpoint. We can all learn to trust as though we were actually SEEING God’s solutions, while we are staring right into the face of our problems.