While I have pointed your attention to the wonderful things God has for us, which we are to become confident to expect from a super-abundant God, I now need to remind you of your own posture of faith. If you are a person of faith, having the ‘substance’ of things you hope for, before those things materialise in your circumstances, then we will see some key “works” or actions which spring from that faith.
Faith You Can See
While we cannot see a person’s level of faith, we can see the ‘works’ they do because of their faith. A person who claims to have great faith, yet who is submerged in fear and anxiety, is challenged by their ‘works’, or what is evident in their life.
Faith must be accompanied by the appropriate behaviours which a person of faith would naturally display. Otherwise the faith is dead, and not faith at all.
“But will you know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” James 2:20
“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” James 2:26
What to Look For
Here are some things I look for in my own life, to determine that my heart is full of faith. These are not the exclusive signs, and they can be feigned by someone who wants to appear to have faith they do not have.
I do not present these as some kind of “test” of someone else’s faith. However, they are a kind of “fruit” of faith, and so, as Jesus said, “By their fruits you will know them” (Matthew 7:16), so you can at least observe the fruit in people’s lives.
Confidence to Praise God
If you have chosen to believe God CAN do all you need done in your situation, and chosen to believe God WILL do all you need done, then you will find a confidence in your heart.
Because you now believe that God will work for you, you can Thank and Praise Him for the outcome that is on the way. You can also praise God for the problem you are going through, because you know that it has led you to find victory in Him. The problem has not defeated you, but led you to grow in faith.
“Although the fig tree shall not blossom …. the flocks be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls: yet will I rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength.” Habakkuk 3:18,19
We are told, “In everything give thanks”, 1Thessalonians 5:18. If we have no faith we would hardly give God thanks for problems.
Created to Praise God
Long ago God said that a people would be created to praise Him.
“The people which shall be created shall praise the LORD” Psalm 102:18.
The Jewish people of old had to live by law, and law did not make them feel like praising God. But through Jesus Christ people can be made right with God through faith. When you receive what you do not deserve, without having earned it, and you know it to be a fact because you BELIEVE it, you find it easy to praise God. You are part of that people “created to praise the LORD”, and you can do it because of, and as proof of your faith.
Your praise does not replace faith; it is only an evidence of it. If you find that your heart says you are lying when you praise God you need to review your believing.
Prayer of Praise
You might like to use this prayer of praise, to encourage your faith.
“I Praise You Lord. I offer You thanks and praise, despite my problems. I praise You because You CAN fix all my problems and You WILL move powerfully for me. I praise You because my problems have led me to learn more about You and to grow in faith. I praise You for loving me enough to use problems to bring me to You. I offer my praise and thanks in the lovely name of Jesus. Amen.”
Resting in Faith
Another evidence of your faith is your ability to rest. When faced with problems people tend to become agitated, unsettled and distracted. Once you decide to ‘believe’, you have confidence that God has it all under control. So you can rest.
God has promised Rest to His people.
“There remains therefore a rest to the people of God.” Hebrews 4:9
“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give you: not as the world gives, give I to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27
We are meant to live with a sense of rest on the inside. We still have to work, build, learn, and do the things that this life and God require, but we do so with a sense of resting on the inside. We no longer struggle or strive with life’s circumstances or with God.
“Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6,7
“He that is entered into his rest, he also has ceased from his own works.” Hebrews 4:10
Are You Resting?
If you say you believe, but continue to be agitated and unable to rest, then your believing needs to be worked on. There is beautiful peace and rest to those who believe that….
“If God be for us, who can be against us” Romans 8:31
“All things work together for good to them that love God” Romans 8:28
“My God will supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:19.
Make a conscious effort to enter into the Rest that God has for you. Build your believing until you enjoy permanent rest.
“Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13.
Prayer for Rest
“Living Lord God, I rest in You. I choose to believe that You have everything under control. I choose to believe that You will never fail me nor let me down. I choose to believe that everything You do is good, and that I can always trust You. So I rest. I give up my panic and worry I throw away my fear and agitation. I give up my striving to make things work out. I trust You, and will continue to do so.
And so I find peace and rest in You. In Jesus’ name Amen.”
Lifestyle of Rest and Rejoicing
To ‘live by faith’ means that your whole life is constantly affected by your choice to believe that God CAN and WILL bless you. Your walk with God is to be the central focus of your life. Therefore the Resting and Rejoicing which spring from your faith will be a natural part of your daily life.
Others will become fearful, agitated, distracted by the latest new story, negative in their speech and pulled away from quiet confidence. But you, as a man of faith, will go on your way rejoicing.
Faith is not something to think about only when you are facing problems, but something that needs to fill your life.
“For we WALK by faith, not by sight” 2Corinthians 5:7
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him (God)” Hebrews 11:6.
“Whatsoever is not of faith is sin” Romans 14:23.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths” Proverbs 3:5,6.
Let The Song Begin
Let me hear you singing with melody in your heart to the Lord. Let me hear that faith in your heart ring from your lips with songs of confident rejoicing. Let me hear to breathing easy, even when the pressures are on top of you.
It is time to fill every pore of our being with a faith-filled confidence in God, that transforms the way we walk and talk and go on our way. Let there be singing. Let there be joy. Let there be rejoicing in the House of the Lord.
These are the natural fruits of lives filled with awesome faith in our awesome and miracle working God, who not only Can do what needs to be done, but who Will do what needs to be done.
Praise His Holy Name!