Years ago I head a number of inspiring messages about faith. Those messages built my faith in God and my confidence to step out in faith, believing God to come through for me.
One message that impressed me was that Faith is a ‘Now’ reality, meaning it is something to be activated in the ‘now’. Let me explain.
The Bible’s has a chapter focused on faith: Hebrews 11. There are many insights into faith contained in that chapter, so I encourage you to read and study it.
The chapter starts with the words ‘Now faith’.
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the conviction or evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1
The Bible’s Faith chapter starts with the word ‘now’. Faith is meant to be a constant ‘now’ in life. It is something alive and relevant in your heart at all times. You have put your faith in Christ, possibly years ago, but that faith remains alive and fresh in your heart.
Some people might have made a commitment to faith in Christ as a child, or at a special meeting years ago, and then gone on with life, having filed their spiritual experience away. That’s not what God is looking for. Your faith in Christ and reliance on Him is meant to be an on-going ‘now’ experience.
‘Sunday-School Believers’, those who learn about God and Christ in their childhood, often carry a sense of being connected to God, but may have stopped going to church or growing their faith. It’s wonderful that people come to faith at any time during life, but God wants us to keep living our faith through every year and even every ‘now’ moment of our lives.
So, if you have gone stale in your faith, treating it as a keepsake from your past, you need to stop right now and decide whether you still trust Christ for you eternal salvation. Is Christ still Lord of your Life? Do you still look to Christ for forgiveness of your sins? Reaffirm your faith in Christ, because your faith is meant to be in the ‘now’, not lost in past memories.
The ‘Now faith’ words also put faith into your very present circumstances, the ‘now’ of your life. You may have had faith in past situations, but God wants you to act and live by faith throughout your life, including now. The Bible tells us to ‘live by faith’, which means we don’t live in the memory of faith, but in an active walk of faith through our lives.
“Now the just shall live by faith” Hebrews 10:38
Note that faith is linked with the word ‘now’ once again.
Righteous people live with faith in their ever present ‘now’. So right now, God calls you to live in faith. Whatever your situation is right now, in home, work, your inner struggles, your finances, health, relationships or whatever, God wants you to call to Him and to rely on Him, now, trusting Him to be your champion and saviour.
That’s having faith in your ‘now’ moment.
You may have seen miracles in the past, holding on in faith, but you still need to live by faith today as well. And you’ll be doing it tomorrow, and in every moment that could be called ‘now’.
God rejoices to see faith in your heart, and as you grow in faith you will at times face bigger challenges than you faced before. So in each new ‘now’ moment you can step up in faith and take on bigger and bigger challenges.
There is another Bible verse linking faith to the word ‘now’. It is at the end of the great chapter on Love.
“Now faith, hope and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” 1Corinthians 13:13
Faith, like love and hope, carries a special enduring quality. Love is not meant to be a momentary experience, but something we live with all our lives. We can live with God’s love surrounding us from now and forever. The same is true of hope. It can carry us forever.
Faith, too, is an enduring thing, that we embrace and surround ourselves with. It carries us through all kinds of difficulties, in each ‘now’ moment, because we live with confidence in God that He is in control and everything will work out as He plans.
That kind of faith, in our ‘now’ moments, gives us the ability to smile at the storm, ignore the enemy’s intimidation, push past our fears and weaknesses, and do exploits for God.
So friends, put Faith at the centre of your daily life. Keep up your confidence in Christ. Be assured of God’s love for you. Cast all your problems and anxieties onto God. Trust God implicitly in every situation. Be firm in your faith.
And live in the victories Christ has for you, delighting that Faith is Now.
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