Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Thoughts From A Student On Faith

Lately God has been showing me the great importance of faith in our lives and how we should not take it for granted, because “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” (Heb. 11:6).

Without faith, we are not able to offer God that which He is due or receive anything He wants to give us and bless us with (Hebrews 11:4, 7–8, 11, 17, 27, 30, 33–34).

Everything we are and do is based on our faith in God: “The righteous will live by faith” (Gal. 3:11). Our source of life is God alone, we find our life, righteousness, and freedom in faith in Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:23–24).

By faith, we have assurance about the truths and realities we cannot see and we have confidence in times of trouble (Heb. 11:1). Fear brings doubt, but faith enables us to obey and follow God. Fear prevents us from moving and growing in God, but faith produces fruit and “faithful actions” (James 2:18).

Faith is our shield (Eph. 6:16). We need it every day and in every situation so we can prevent the flaming arrows of the evil one from hurting us.

Through faith, we are able to find strength in weakness, to conquer every situation in our lives, to obtain the promises of God, and to become the mighty men and women He has called us to be. As His people, we are to walk a life of victory which only comes through faith in Him who overcame.

We should remind ourselves of who God has been in our life and believe in who He says He is, no matter the situation or season we are in. He does not change; He is the same yesterday, today and forever! We must not let ourselves be like the Israelites, when they let unbelief come and blamed God by saying that He brought them out of Egypt to kill them. They forgot who He was and what He did for them. God is faithful in all that He does, and wherever we are, God has brought us there with a purpose: to bless us and use us to bless others.

The place of “holding on” might be the hardest one; it is a place where faith has been tested. It is a place of believing and waiting on God. There we can either let unbelief come, which leads to fear, or we can believe in God, in His Word, and in His promises, and go with courage and boldness into the battle, knowing that it has already been won. No matter how long you have been waiting and holding onto His promises, believe that the One who promised is faithful to bring it to pass (Heb. 6:12, 15).

 God has called us as His people to walk a life of faith, taking up our cross and following Him. He is with us, as our Captain and Shepherd, King and Friend, every step of the way. He has provided everything we need so that we can walk as confident sons and daughters in the victory He has already provided for our lives.
Vyara Markova is a Second Year student from Silistra, Bulgaria. Her name means “faith.”