Living by faith may seem like it is a “religious” conversation. But the reality is that every day we live by some level of faith. We put our faith in things. We have faith that our car will start, that the chair will hold us when we sit, that water will pour from the tap when we turn the handle and that food will be cold when we open the door to the fridge.
These examples may not seem like faith. But they are.
The definition of faith is, “conviction of the truth of anything, belief.”
As we go through our lives we can trust or have faith in the fundamental realities or laws of our world, like gravity. Trusting in these laws, in the reality of our world, is good practice for putting faith or trust in God.
We don’t question gravity. We trust it.
Why do we trust gravity?
We can see it at work all around us. Our feet are on the ground, we feel the sun-warmed concrete beneath our feet. But we can’t actually see gravity.
Faith in God works like this. We believe, we trust because we can see him at work all around us, and so we can put our faith in him.
We can put our faith in God, not just that he exists, but that he is at work. And that he has a plan. Part of his masterful plan is to offer us – his creation – salvation.
Salvation is God’s plan through the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ to give us an opportunity to be joined together with him. God is pure, holy, righteous & just. In order for us to be able to have a relationship with him we needed a bridge.
Jesus became that bridge – bridging the gap between our sinful humanity and God’s holy deity. Without Christ, there is no chance for a relationship between us and God.
With Christ, through salvation we have that chance.
What then is salvation?
Salvation is simply recognizing we have been separated from God because of our sin, turning away from the sinful behaviors, lifestyle and choices and accepting the gift of a new life through Jesus Christ.
In Romans 1:16 Paul writes, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first for the Jew, and also for the Gentiles.”
Salvation is for everyone, for anyone who chooses to believe in the gospel – the good news that Jesus Christ came to stand in the gap for us, washing away the sin that separates us from God.
I believe that walking by faith and not by sight means that we must embrace salvation – even if we do not feel worthy of it.
Living by faith looks like:
- Upward – Recognize salvation comes from the power of God through the gospel.
- Inward – Accept that this gift of salvation is for all of us – it’s a personal relationship
- Outward – Share the good news of salvation because it is for everyone
Psalm 62:1 says, “I am at rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.” Did you catch that. It’s personal. “My salvation comes from him.” The psalmist understood where salvation comes from.
Just like our experience with gravity, we can trust that God will be there for us. We can live by faith knowing that salvation by God’s power through Jesus Christ is certain. And the more aware we become of the power of God to save us, the more we will want to share it.
Psalm 71:15 says, “My mouth will tell about your righteousness & salvation all day long, though I cannot sum them up.”
When we experience salvation, the feeling of being set free from the burden of sin in this life, may we be compelled to tell others about what God has done for us.
I don’t know where you are on your faith journey. Maybe you have been trusting God like you trust gravity for years and years. Maybe this whole Jesus, God and living by faith thing is new to you. Wherever you are this is my prayer for you:
Abba Father,
I come before you with a humble heart, recognizing that the gift of salvation is a generous gift beyond compare. It is a gift that I often do not feel worthy to receive, yet in your goodness you give it so freely.
God I pray over this devotion, and over those who will read it that they encounter the goodness of your salvation, the precious gift that only comes through your power and through our acceptance of Jesus’ gift to us when he paid the price for our sins on the cross.
I pray that those who have not accepted this gift would be open to receiving it today. Whatever has held them back in the past, I pray that it would be removed and they would experience the freedom of salvation today.
Lord, today will you help us to live by faith. Help us to put our trust in you – even when we can’t feel you and even when we can’t see you at work. Help us to trust you whole-heartedly. Help us to not fix our eyes on the things we can see, but press on to trust.
God you are powerful, and it is through your power alone that we are here, that we get to be in a relationship with you. May you be honored through our lives, through our work, through our conversation, through our thoughts, and through our decision today to walk by faith and not by sight to receive the gift of salvation that you have given to all. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
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