Do You Have Faith? (Copy)
Mark 11:22 “Have faith in God”.
Do You Have Faith?
Every human person has a natural human faith. We use it at all times, whether we realize it or not. We get on Airplanes, we may not see, neither do we know the Pilot, yet we have faith that he or she will take us safely to our destination. We sit on the chair or lay on the bed and we believe that they will support us and we would not fall. We use our natural human faith everyday of our lives. But there is another kind of faith that comes from God, and we call it "the God-kind of Faith." Mark 11:22 reads, "Have faith in God." Another translation reads, "Have theGod-kind of Faith." Still another reads, "Have the faith of God." Does God have faith? The answer is yes. Hebrews 12: 2 states that Jesus is, "the author and finisher of our faith." Bible faith originates with God. He gives us that faith so that we can live out our Christian lives here on earth with success. Jesus, though He were the Son of God, lived a life of faith while He was on earth to show us how to live by faith and please God. Faith is a gift from God. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest anyone should boast." Salvation is a free gift from God and it is obtained by faith in Jesus Christ.
Healing, prosperity, protection, having our needs met, are all received from God by faith. In the Gospels Jesus commended the faith of those who sought Him, and they received their deliverance. But He also lamented those who did not have faith, thereby not receiving what they needed (See Mark 6:1-6). But the searching question is, "how do I receive that God-kind of faith?" The answer to that question is found in Romans 10:17. "So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God."Paul's argument in that passage in Romans 10 is that one cannot believe in something without first hearing about it. That goes for everything we need from God. We first have to hear about it in order to get faith for it.
The Word of God is the source for faith. It is only when people hear the Good News of Salvation will they be inclined to believe or have faith for it. God and His Word are one. "In the beginning was The Word, and The Word was with God, and The Word was God," says John 1:1. So when the Word of God is proclaimed, God by the Holy Spirit puts faith in the heart of the hearer so that they can believe for not only for Salvation but for anything they need from God. So, if you have not the God-kind of faith, even as you read this devotional, faith is being imparted to you so that you can receive God's blessings and favor in your life. But to those who have already believed in Christ, you have the faith of God in you. In Romans 12:3, the Bible states that God has "dealt to everyone the measure of faith." Paul is writing to Christians, not to those who are non-Christians, those who are already in Christ. If you are in Christ, you have within you the measure of the God-kind of faith. You heard the Word of God and God gave you the faith to receive all that you need from God. You just need to walk on in faith, trusting God to meet your every need.
So every human person operates in the natural human faith. But the Christian also operates in the faith of God, which only God alone can give. This is the faith Jesus exercised when He was on earth. The faith of God is available to all those who hear the Word of God. Indeed, this is the faith the Bible describes as mountain moving. (Mark 11: 23).
Heavenly Father, thank you for making faith possible through your Holy Word. May those who hear the Word receive faith so that they can experience your bountiful blessings. And may those of us who already have faith experience growth therein. In Jesus name. Amen.
