What Is Faith.

[Helen]

Faith is given to all, if only mustard seed size...
"To EVERY man is given a measure of faith.." ..

When our next step is hidden from view, when our body demands all our attention because of pain. When there is no word from God and He is silent. When darkness and dryness are our only companions. When His felt-presence is totally missing....that which is left, is Faith!

Faith says - "I can't feel You or see You, I can't hear You , yet I trust yet I trust You in the darkness of the soul'...until Your light shines brightly again and I hear the still small Voice.

That to me is faith...enduring faith , solid faith.

....H

 

[amadeus]

Faith is given to all, if only mustard seed size...
"To EVERY man is given a measure of faith.." ..

When our next step is hidden from view, when our body demands all our attention because of pain. When there is no word from God and He is silent. When darkness and dryness are our only companions. When His felt-presence is totally missing....that which is left, is Faith!

Faith says - "I can't feel You or see You, I can't hear You , yet I trust yet I trust You in the darkness of the soul'...until Your light shines brightly again and I hear the still small Voice.

That to me is faith...enduring faith , solid faith.

....H

Amen!

Everyone is given that measure of faith but what do we do with what we have been given? How many are burying it or covering it up?

"But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money." Matt 25:18

What are we doing with our Light? Are we putting it under a bushel?

"Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house." Matt 5:15

According to God's will, our little dab of faith can accomplish much... but if we bury it or put it under a bushel?

Here Jesus speaks of what our faith can do:

"And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you." Luke 17:6

The problem lies in too much burying or covering it up instead of stepping out in it!

 

[MatthewG]

Thank you for sharing.

God can indeed deliver us in the face of any type of problem be it with your mind/heart/will/emotion.

Slept very little today and use to I would whine and complain and moan and groan. My head also was hurting. Got up anyway and decided to thank God even through the pain, and pray.

God is good. Always will he be a God of love. God of hope. We are placing our trust and faith in him and the Son of God to help us in our lives by the Holy Spirit and to grow and mature as faithful Christians. To have faith and love.

Trusting that though we don’t know the situation or the outcome with faith in Him, he will indeed bring around the right outcome with our trust and faith planted and rooted deeply in the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

[GTW27]

Faith is given to all, if only mustard seed size...
"To EVERY man is given a measure of faith.." ..

When our next step is hidden from view, when our body demands all our attention because of pain. When there is no word from God and He is silent. When darkness and dryness are our only companions. When His felt-presence is totally missing....that which is left, is Faith!

Faith says - "I can't feel You or see You, I can't hear You , yet I trust yet I trust You in the darkness of the soul'...until Your light shines brightly again and I hear the still small Voice.

That to me is faith...enduring faith , solid faith.

....H

Blessings in Christ Jesus Helen. Faith can also say, "Not so", and then The Truth is proclaimed. And that Truth can only be found in Jesus.

 

[GodsGrace]

Faith is given to all, if only mustard seed size...
"To EVERY man is given a measure of faith.." ..

When our next step is hidden from view, when our body demands all our attention because of pain. When there is no word from God and He is silent. When darkness and dryness are our only companions. When His felt-presence is totally missing....that which is left, is Faith!

Faith says - "I can't feel You or see You, I can't hear You , yet I trust yet I trust You in the darkness of the soul'...until Your light shines brightly again and I hear the still small Voice.

That to me is faith...enduring faith , solid faith.

....H

Beautiful post.
What a blessing!

 

[Waiting on him]

Faith is given of God to save.

 

[quietthinker]

Faith is given to all, if only mustard seed size...
"To EVERY man is given a measure of faith.." ..

When our next step is hidden from view, when our body demands all our attention because of pain. When there is no word from God and He is silent. When darkness and dryness are our only companions. When His felt-presence is totally missing....that which is left, is Faith!

Faith says - "I can't feel You or see You, I can't hear You , yet I trust yet I trust You in the darkness of the soul'...until Your light shines brightly again and I hear the still small Voice.

That to me is faith...enduring faith , solid faith.

....H

When I sit on a chair I have full confidence it will support me.....that is faith.
If I had any doubts I wouldn't sit on it.

 

[MatthewG]

The ultimate outcome


For you believer

is resurrection and going to be with God in the kingdom of the Heavenly Jerusalem.


There is also a better resurrection as well called exanastia

founded here Philippians 3:11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

just look down and read the words.

That is the goal my friends….

being with God at the end of this life be it normal resurrection or out resurrection…

Whatever you decide that is up to you…

God is going to raise you again when you die from this body… we all will be judged not necessarily by our actions but by our heart…

Love… defined always biblically period never any other love 1 Corinthians 13

 

[APAK]

When I sit on a chair I have full confidence it will support me.....that is faith.
If I had any doubts I wouldn't sit on it.

Your first line means strong faith to me..
The second line means I will still sit on this chair even if it is a little creaky to support my 'weight' and it's the last one in the house. That is still called faith to me - desperate weak or little faith... I'm a risk taker at heart...lol

 

[APAK]

Faith is given to all, if only mustard seed size...
"To EVERY man is given a measure of faith.." ..

When our next step is hidden from view, when our body demands all our attention because of pain. When there is no word from God and He is silent. When darkness and dryness are our only companions. When His felt-presence is totally missing....that which is left, is Faith!

Faith says - "I can't feel You or see You, I can't hear You , yet I trust yet I trust You in the darkness of the soul'...until Your light shines brightly again and I hear the still small Voice.

That to me is faith...enduring faith , solid faith.

....H

Faith as you have just described it is from a person who is living it...today

I hope you are in great health Helen. I see you have persevered and have been hopeful for some time now with some health issues. Age does definitively catch up with us, as our health declines, and you were a teenager when I was just a toddler.

Yes faith to me means being confident and determined with long patience, waiting on the Lord, being thankful even when our time of healing and its evidence is not His time yet. We can learn a lot from you elders....love you as a sister Helen, and Bless you.....Henry......

 

[Helen]

Faith as you have just described it is from a person who is living it...today

I hope you are in great health Helen. I see you have persevered and have been hopeful for some time now with some health issues. Age does definitively catch up with us, as our health declines, and you were a teenager when I was just a toddler.

Yes faith to me means being confident and determined with long patience, waiting on the Lord, being thankful even when our time of healing and its evidence is not His time yet. We can learn a lot from you elders....love you as a sister Helen, and Bless you.....Henry......

Amen. Thanks for response . You always bless me.

I remember years ago , getting a gentle rebuke from the Lord .
I was parking my car and said to the Lord “ I’m so thankful that the tooth was taken care of, no more pain..in a flash I heard Him say - “Why do you thank Me only when things go well with you. You need to have a thankful heart when things aren’t going quite so well. that’s maturity . “

Since then I believe that we/l have more faith in the thick darkness , the dark valley, then when on the bright dipunny mountain top. Good times take no faith , it’s the dark times where we reach deep with and know He’s there in the darkness . Not enjoyable times , but I believe those are the growing times.
For me anyway!

* Also, my thanks to everyone who read here and posted a reply …God bless….H

 

[farouk]

Amen. Thanks for response . You always bless me.

I remember years ago , getting a gentle rebuke from the Lord .
I was parking my car and said to the Lord “ I’m so thankful that the tooth was taken care of, no more pain..in a flash I heard Him say - “Why do you thank Me only when things go well with you. You need to have a thankful heart when things aren’t going quite so well. that’s maturity . “

Since then I believe that we/l have more faith in the thick darkness , the dark valley, then when on the bright dipunny mountain top. Good times take no faith , it’s the dark times where we reach deep with and know He’s there in the darkness . Not enjoyable times , but I believe those are the growing times.
For me anyway!

* Also, my thanks to everyone who read here and posted a reply …God bless….H

@Helen I love the ref. to the dark valley in Psalm 23, while the Psalmist's trust by God's grace shines through...

 

[farouk]

Faith is given of God to save.

@Waiting on him Indeed; Ephesians 2.8.......

(Say Hi to @VictoryinJesus ; I think a lot of us miss her Scripture contributions...)

 

[farouk]

@Waiting on him PS: I see she just started posting again; keep it up, you guys... :)

 

[Vid]

When His felt-presence is totally missing....that which is left, is Faith!

This is why faith has nothing to do with believing. It's about knowing. Once God's Peace and Love have really been felt, there can be no doubt God is real anymore. Just like night doesn't make us doubt the reality of the sun.

 

[APAK]

Amen. Thanks for response . You always bless me.

I remember years ago , getting a gentle rebuke from the Lord .
I was parking my car and said to the Lord “ I’m so thankful that the tooth was taken care of, no more pain..in a flash I heard Him say - “Why do you thank Me only when things go well with you. You need to have a thankful heart when things aren’t going quite so well. that’s maturity . “

Since then I believe that we/l have more faith in the thick darkness , the dark valley, then when on the bright dipunny mountain top. Good times take no faith , it’s the dark times where we reach deep with and know He’s there in the darkness . Not enjoyable times , but I believe those are the growing times.
For me anyway!

* Also, my thanks to everyone who read here and posted a reply …God bless….H

Helen, I'm experiencing similar things with the quiet voice of the Lord speaking to me these days. Sometimes it is not a voice at all, it's like a type of inner acknowledgement, or self-check that I'm on the right path in faith and things are ok. He let's me know...It has happened more recently with my 'minor' ailments and in particular my wife's arthritis in nearly every major joint. She has the faith that makes a lion lose its prowess and its 'pride.' I see you most probably have the same.

Hope you and your family enjoy the cooler weather and fresh snow. I know Montana is about freezing point, so North of it must be even colder. Those clippers from your province really bring down the snow and cold. I'm glad I'm in sunny Florida and I've left all this freshness to some of my wife's relatives....:cool:

Thank you again Helen for your inspiring words.

 

[Heart2Soul]

Faith is given to all, if only mustard seed size...
"To EVERY man is given a measure of faith.." ..

When our next step is hidden from view, when our body demands all our attention because of pain. When there is no word from God and He is silent. When darkness and dryness are our only companions. When His felt-presence is totally missing....that which is left, is Faith!

Faith says - "I can't feel You or see You, I can't hear You , yet I trust yet I trust You in the darkness of the soul'...until Your light shines brightly again and I hear the still small Voice.

That to me is faith...enduring faith , solid faith.

....H

And in our trials and tribulations we tend to be more focused on the problems than on Him, who can deliver us from our afflictions...or who gives us strength to endure...or who tests our faith through trying times...the trial by fire of our faith is the time God has chosen to allow us to suffer through trials and tribulations in order to test how strong our faith is.
When our faith stands...and having done all to stand and fight the good fight of faith....then what is equally as hard is to praise Him in all of it...the sacrifice of praise.
Quoted from Got Questions:

Then there are those times when God did not come through the way we thought He would. The medical test comes back positive. The spouse wants a divorce. A child is wayward. The mortgage company calls in the loan. God seems very far away, and praise is the last thing to bubble up from our hearts. We can’t see His goodness, and circumstances scream that He has forgotten us.

To praise God in those times requires personal sacrifice. It takes an act of the will to lay our all on the altar before a God we don’t understand. When we bring a "sacrifice of praise," we choose to believe that, even though life is not going as we think it should, God is still good and can be trusted (Psalm 135:2; Nahum 1:7). When we choose to praise God in spite of the storms, He is honored, and our faith grows deeper (Malachi 3:13-17; Job 13:15).

The command in Hebrews 13:15 says that this sacrifice is to be offered "continually." Our praise of God is not to be based on our opinion of His job performance. Praise cannot be treated as a "reward" we give God for His obvious blessings. Isaiah 29:13 says, "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." Real praise continues regardless of circumstances. It flows continually from a worshiping heart in good times and bad (Acts 16:23-25).

The "sacrifice of praise" comes from a humble heart that has been purified by fire. It rises from a spirit that has chosen to honor God in spite of the pain that life is causing. Psalm 51:16-17 expresses this idea when it says, "You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise."

And for me when the enemy is all around me attacking me with everything possible....
I turn on Praise and Worship music and begin to sing praises to Him....because I know that God is faithful...I trust Him to work for good what the enemy meant for bad.

At times that's all I have left is my faith and my praise, and Satan can't take that away from me.:)

 

[Helen]

And in our trials and tribulations we tend to be more focused on the problems than on Him, who can deliver us from our afflictions...or who gives us strength to endure...or who tests our faith through trying times...the trial by fire of our faith is the time God has chosen to allow us to suffer through trials and tribulations in order to test how strong our faith is.
When our faith stands...and having done all to stand and fight the good fight of faith....then what is equally as hard is to praise Him in all of it...the sacrifice of praise.
Quoted from Got Questions:

Then there are those times when God did not come through the way we thought He would. The medical test comes back positive. The spouse wants a divorce. A child is wayward. The mortgage company calls in the loan. God seems very far away, and praise is the last thing to bubble up from our hearts. We can’t see His goodness, and circumstances scream that He has forgotten us.

To praise God in those times requires personal sacrifice. It takes an act of the will to lay our all on the altar before a God we don’t understand. When we bring a "sacrifice of praise," we choose to believe that, even though life is not going as we think it should, God is still good and can be trusted (Psalm 135:2; Nahum 1:7). When we choose to praise God in spite of the storms, He is honored, and our faith grows deeper (Malachi 3:13-17; Job 13:15).

The command in Hebrews 13:15 says that this sacrifice is to be offered "continually." Our praise of God is not to be based on our opinion of His job performance. Praise cannot be treated as a "reward" we give God for His obvious blessings. Isaiah 29:13 says, "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." Real praise continues regardless of circumstances. It flows continually from a worshiping heart in good times and bad (Acts 16:23-25).

The "sacrifice of praise" comes from a humble heart that has been purified by fire. It rises from a spirit that has chosen to honor God in spite of the pain that life is causing. Psalm 51:16-17 expresses this idea when it says, "You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise."

And for me when the enemy is all around me attacking me with everything possible....
I turn on Praise and Worship music and begin to sing praises to Him....because I know that God is faithful...I trust Him to work for good what the enemy meant for bad.

At times that's all I have left is my faith and my praise, and Satan can't take that away from me.:)

yay! AMEN to that!

I’ve had , and still am, learning ….that if “light and darkness serves both alike to Him” …then light and darkness must be both alike to me! But…..I’m a slow learner .

 

[Heart2Soul]

yay! AMEN to that!

I’ve had , and still am, learning ….that if “light and darkness serves both alike to Him” …then light and darkness must be both alike to me! But…..I’m a slow learner .

Love how you worded that! :)

 

[farouk]

And in our trials and tribulations we tend to be more focused on the problems than on Him, who can deliver us from our afflictions...or who gives us strength to endure...or who tests our faith through trying times...the trial by fire of our faith is the time God has chosen to allow us to suffer through trials and tribulations in order to test how strong our faith is.
When our faith stands...and having done all to stand and fight the good fight of faith....then what is equally as hard is to praise Him in all of it...the sacrifice of praise.
Quoted from Got Questions:

Then there are those times when God did not come through the way we thought He would. The medical test comes back positive. The spouse wants a divorce. A child is wayward. The mortgage company calls in the loan. God seems very far away, and praise is the last thing to bubble up from our hearts. We can’t see His goodness, and circumstances scream that He has forgotten us.

To praise God in those times requires personal sacrifice. It takes an act of the will to lay our all on the altar before a God we don’t understand. When we bring a "sacrifice of praise," we choose to believe that, even though life is not going as we think it should, God is still good and can be trusted (Psalm 135:2; Nahum 1:7). When we choose to praise God in spite of the storms, He is honored, and our faith grows deeper (Malachi 3:13-17; Job 13:15).

The command in Hebrews 13:15 says that this sacrifice is to be offered "continually." Our praise of God is not to be based on our opinion of His job performance. Praise cannot be treated as a "reward" we give God for His obvious blessings. Isaiah 29:13 says, "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." Real praise continues regardless of circumstances. It flows continually from a worshiping heart in good times and bad (Acts 16:23-25).

The "sacrifice of praise" comes from a humble heart that has been purified by fire. It rises from a spirit that has chosen to honor God in spite of the pain that life is causing. Psalm 51:16-17 expresses this idea when it says, "You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise."

And for me when the enemy is all around me attacking me with everything possible....
I turn on Praise and Worship music and begin to sing praises to Him....because I know that God is faithful...I trust Him to work for good what the enemy meant for bad.

At times that's all I have left is my faith and my praise, and Satan can't take that away from me.:)

@Heart2Soul Isaiah 48.10 is such a searching and helpful verse: