Trust

"But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." (Hebrews 11:6)

"Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them." (Mark 11:24)

What does it mean to simply believe? Belief operates under different paradigms. There's belief that is a mental assent. I believe there is a president of the United States. I've never met him or seen him personally but I'm pretty confident that he exists. I give a mental assent to his existence.

Then there's the concept of believing in someone or something. That concept is closely connected to faith. You can only truly trust someone you know well.

Our calling in the Christian life is to know God. Romans 10:17 tells us that, "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God." Jesus is the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). Hearing is a relationship word. We grow in the Lord and in our walk with Him as we give place to the Word of God in our lives.

As we grow in our walk with Him we grow in trust of Him! As we grow in trust our faith increases. Sometimes, I think that we have tried to teach faith without the concept of relationship. We've tried to teach it as a belief apart from the context that causes it to thrive. Faith doesn't exist in a vacuum.

How do we simply believe? We simply get to know God. The more we know; the more we learn to trust and to rest. How do we get to know God? We spend time in His Word and in prayer and with other believers. It's pretty simple. We just have to do it.

We grow up in a world that would rob our faith (after all Satan is called the god of this world and he comes to steal, kill and destroy) and keep us from the very relationship we were created for but God, in His wonderful goodness, has made abundant provision for us in Jesus Christ!