Hi everyone,
I’d like to ask a question,so I feel like I’m not trusting God enough or even at all,I believe he is impossible of doing bad,and all he does is good regardless of the circumstances that may present themselves.But how do you actively trust God?,what does the experience seem like?,is it a certain feeling?,how can I trust in him(not implying I’m not,simply asking if I haven’t)
What is biblical faith?
- “Firm persuasion, a conviction based upon hearing...” (Vines Expository Dictionary)
Romans 10:17
17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
- Given by God.
Romans 12:3
3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.
- Not “I hope so,” but “I know so.”
2 Timothy 1:12 (NKJV)
12 For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.
- Inevitably manifests in corresponding action.
James 2:18-20
18 But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe--and tremble!
20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?
James 1:22
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
How does faith grow?
- Knowledge: (
2Timothy 1:12; John 20:31; 1 John 4:16) We do not normally trust beyond the scope of our knowledge. Imagine if a stranger walked up to you and asked for the keys to your home, for your credit cards, your bank account information, and the names and locations of your children. Would you give the stranger what he requested? Of course not. He is unknown to you. Only a fool would trust a stranger with such personal and important things. This is true in our relationship with God, too. We will only trust Him as far as we know Him. God, however, is not asking just for our material goods, or for access to those who are important to us, but for our very life. How much more, then, is it vital that we know Him that we may be confident in yielding ourselves completely to Him?
- Exercise: (
1 Peter 1:6-9) Faith is like a muscle; it only grows stronger as it is exercised. For this reason, God “tries our faith,” giving it opportunity to grow thereby. “The tree blown most often by the wind has the deepest roots.”
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Experience: Deep confidence and conviction - deep faith - is the natural consequence of the positive experience of that which we believe. In other words, the more I experience God and His truth in my life, the greater faith I will have in Him and His truth.
Psalms 34:8
8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
Biblical faith is not blind.
God does not require that we have faith in Him in a vacuum of reason to do so.
Psalms 19:1 (NKJV)
1 ...The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.
Romans 1:18-20 (NKJV)
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.
20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse...
John 1:14
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
1 Peter 3:15
15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;
Believing before seeing.
Read:
Numbers 13:17-14:24; Matthew 8:5-10
John 20:29
29 Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
2 Corinthians 5:7
7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.
In God's economy, faith must be exerted before it is rewarded. We must “reckon” or count on many things being true of us as believers even when we do not initially have corresponding evidence in our experience that bears out or proves that what we believe is true. It is only when we put our full weight upon God's truths and promises to us that we begin to experience them in our daily living.
“Faith is believing a thing is so,
When it appears it is not so,
In order for it to be so,
Because it is so.”
Here are some things God says are true of those who have been born again:
2 Corinthians 5:17
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
Colossians 3:2-3
2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (see also
Romans 6)
Ephesians 2:4-6
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
2 Timothy 1:7
7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
Colossians 1:13
13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
Colossians 2:9-10
9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;
10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.
Ephesians 1:3
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,