What Is Faith?
Faith is the substance of things hoped for . . .
Hebrews 11:1
Faith must have an object. Faith in faith is meaningless. Telling a person to believe without giving him any evidence or reason for belief is like asking a person to believe that the moon is made of green cheese.
God wants us to know certain facts about Him so that we will have faith in Him and trust Him for the rest.
A child does not repeatedly ask his parents whether he will be taken to a doctor if he becomes ill or whether there will be another meal to eat (at least, not very often in our culture). The reason he does not ask such questions is that his parents have proven to him over and over again that they love him enough to take care of his needs.
It is the same with God. God has proven His love for us in that even while we were yet sinners, He sent Christ to die for us. And He continually proves how much He loves us by providing for our daily needs.
God also wants us to trust that He will continue to provide for us. This is faith. How happy would a parent be if his child constantly questioned him as to whether his needs would be met? The parent would feel frustrated and sad, perhaps angry that the child did not trust him.
There are scores of references to faith, about what it can do for us and how much it pleases God. Jesus was amazed that the Roman soldier expressed great faith when he told Jesus just to “say the word” and his servant would be healed. Christ also told a blind man and a sick woman, “Thy faith hath made thee whole.”
God values faith, our trust in Him, above every other character quality that a Christian can develop. And how do we develop faith? We do it by spending time in the presence of God through prayer and by applying His Word and His promises to our everyday lives. That way, our faith grows and God is well pleased. And when God is pleased, so are we.
Our Father and our God, I put my faith in You and You alone. I know that You are faithful to protect and provide for me and that I can trust You and Your timing. Help my faith to grow, O God. Make me spiritually whole through my faith in You and Your Son, in whose name I pray. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).