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What is Faith?
The word faith is derived from Latin and French, meaning trust or confidence in someone, a thing, or a concept. It is strongly associated with religious people, and it is a word that has been commonly used and quite controversial because some people believe exercising faith must be with evidence. However, the prominent features in the definition of faith are confidence or trust, and they really make sense when exercised without proof.
In defining faith to conceptualize what it is, some dictionaries attach words like confidence, belief, convinced of, reliance, complete trust, persuasion, giving someone credence, and moral conviction of religious truth. Even the bible's most quoted definition of faith does not deviate from this norm. It says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1
Considering faith biblically, it means an assurance that the words of God in the bible are valid even if there is no seen proof enough for a conviction. It is the reliance on what is hoped for which makes faith related to hope, yet distinct from it. In short, a clearer explanation implies that faith is built upon hope; hence it is a self-assured expectation that anticipatorily emanates from faith.
What Does it Means to Have Real Faith?
You can understand faith clearly by imagining that you are at the topside of Niagara waterfall and staring at the vast waterfall. You’ve undoubtedly heard about tightrope walkers, but you haven’t seen one who walks and pushes a wheelbarrow on a thin rope above a waterfall. At the topside where you’re at, a tightrope walker beckons on you to volunteer by sitting in the wheelbarrow so he could push you over the waterfall on a thin rope to the other side. At that moment, you cannot even ascertain how many times he’s done that successfully. In such a situation, it is faith that you need to surrender yourself to the tightrope walker.
Why Do We Need Faith?
Many critics are in the habit of questioning the need for faith in God and his words. As a result, knowing that faith is the linkage power into the spiritual realm is insightful here. It is faith that increases one’s perception and makes God, who is invisible to be tangible.
To acknowledge the account of Romans 3:23 and to admit that humans have sinned due to their imperfection means humans have become liable to the penalty of death. To rescue oneself from the jaws of death, one needs faith to believe that God has sent Jesus to give up his life as a sacrifice for our sins, thus justifying our eternal existence by faith.
Believing that God exists and Jesus gave his life on account of humans might just be the beginning. Faith enables one to prove the belief that God and Jesus really exist even without having to see them in person. This admittance in faith enables genuine follower ship and the observation of the commandments written in the bible.
More so, following the bible’s benefiting assurances which account for both the physical and spiritual well-being of God’s people, it is through faith that God’s people can become active beneficiaries including in the statements like the ones in Revelation 21:5, “I am making all things new”, in James 5:14–15, “we are healed by faith”, and in Ephesians 2:8, “we will be saved by faith.”
How to Rely on Your Faith During Hard Times
Following the attainment of knowledge for the need of faith, numerous spontaneous situations are capable of sapping away one’s faith. These situations could be so challenging and daunting that they could be described as tough times. How then can one rely on one’s faith during such times? Some of the ways include:
· Maintaining one's faith at all times.
This simply implies operating from a highly built-up faith level and maintaining that exact faith level irrespective of whether the temptation is trivial or severe.
· Finding activities that come with peace
To actualise faith reliance, one is required to be selective at both one’s situational preferences and in one’s reaction to any situation. Impliedly, trying out some portions of the bible that can invigorate one’s faith, as well as one’s honest request for God’s wisdom first over any situation, is enormously sacrosanct.
· Laying pressing issues before God in faith
This method involves one's admittance of the existence of God as the most supreme even without having to see him. Therefore, one must put one's genuine emotions, concerns worrisome issues before him in prayers. This exercise must be followed with faith, confidence and assurance that one's plight has been clearly heard.
· Counting on trustworthy system support
The atmosphere one is exposed to can determine how much influence hard times can thrive in one’s life. One is expected to find a community of listening friends who share in one’s faith and with whom one can share one's heart with. The feelings one would derive will exert such a person with inner strength, hope and love.
Conclusion
Indeed, no one has really seen God; only the things he has created gives one the faith and assurance that he does exist. The maintenance of such faith is the means by which we have a relationship with God. Faith is beyond an intellectual agreement because situations might arise where there is no evidence to convince one to invest one’s faith. Such a situation is the true test of faith. Hence, faith is like being aware of taking a risk to rely entirely on God and his son and totally zeroing out the consequence of the risk of such action.