Faith that Gets Across the Finish Line

Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV)
⁶ 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.

Faith is one of the primary focuses in the life of a believer and for good reason. As the scripture above states, there is no pleasing God without faith. The reason for that is that faith, as one well-known minister of the Gospel says, is the currency of heaven (not a currency as in money, but currency as in a method of exchange). Faith is the hand that reaches out and receives what God has already given.

Pretty simple concept, but not so simple to actually live out. The sticking point for many believers when it comes to faith is actually themselves. They focus on their faith, which more times than not, seems to fall short. It is only when faith is viewed with the backdrop of GRACE, that faith can develop the way God intended.

One well-known minister of the Gospel defines GRACE as God’s empowering presence within believers that enables them to become what God sees when He looks at them. In essence, God gives us Himself (empowering Presence) to enable us to be like Him. Talk about “sweatless effort”! He is the one doing all the heavy-lifting in the relationship.

Let’s look at GRACE as it works in the development of our faith. Three scriptures, in particular, show us that faith is more about what God has already done, than what we have to do.

• Galatians 2:20 (KJV)
  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless, I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
  Whose faith do we have?… “the faith of the Son of God.” From this perspective, it is no longer “our faith” we are trying to use. Jesus gave us His faith; therefore, the responsibility for its success in on Him, not us.
• Romans 12:3 (KJV)
  For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
  Every believer gets the same measure of Jesus’ faith. Nobody gets short-changed. And, as the next scripture shows, you don’t need much to get what you are believing for.
• Luke 17:6 (NLT)
  The Lord answered, “If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘May you be uprooted and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you!
  A mustard seed is smaller in size than a pea. Yet the Word says that faith the size of a mustard seed is big enough to get the job done.

Religious tradition and the traditions of man have shifted the emphasis on faith from what God has already done to what we must do. When we view faith with GRACE as a backdrop it changes our focus.

Our faith develops not out of a struggle to believe enough, but out of a heart of gratitude for God empowering us, by actually giving us His faith. He is a Faith God, and He is letting us piggy-back our way to great faith. That is GRACE, and it is indeed amazing!

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