Hebrews 6:1-2 Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.
We are continuing to look at the elementary doctrine of Christ to make sure we have a firm foundation. Our next foundation from the verse is faith toward God. I like to define faith as a knowing. We just know something is. Here’s the Bible definition of faith.
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see.
It’s important we have faith, and not just in the cross for our salvation. We are saved by faith and we walk in our salvation, so we need to walk by faith every day.
Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
We need to make sure our faith is in God and not in anything else. If it’s in God, then it won’t be shaken. If we put our faith in something else, we can have the rug pulled out from under us. As an example, if your faith is in the fact that God is good and in control, then when something bad happens, you can believe that God’s got this and is working something good, and you won’t get worried or fearful and won’t be shaken in your faith. Your faith is in God Himself. But if your faith was in God making things go the way you wanted instead of in His unchangeable character, then when things go wrong (i.e., not the way you hoped), your faith will fail, and you’ll be searching for answers instead of resting in God’s arms of love.
We can have faith in God because we know who He is. The fact that He is unchanging means that we can always rest assured that our faith is founded on a rock-solid foundation. We can take root in God’s love and be firm in our place.
We can have our prayers answered and see miracles and all such things, not because we had some great faith that something would happen, but because we know our God helps, heals, protects, provides. We put our faith in Him and who He is, always knowing He’s a lot bigger than just the one thing we’re wanting. We always trust His plan.
Here’s the thinking I use to have faith and not worry about anything:
God is all-knowing, so He knows what’s going on (whatever the situation is that I’m facing).
God is love, so He cares about what’s going on.
God is all-powerful, so He can do something about it.
God is sovereign, so He has the authority to act in the situation. Nothing else can stop Him or tell Him he can’t.
God is good, so I can trust His plan.
If I could put my faith in God, in those character traits of God, then there would be no reason to worry about whatever it was. God would handle it. It didn’t matter what His choice was in the situation; I could trust that it was for the best. That’s the place of faith — not trying to believe for what you want, but knowing that God is God and you aren’t!
Romans 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Lesson Point: We put our faith in the unchanging character of God.
Challenge Question: Can you recognize times when you’ve put your faith in something other than God Himself? If you’ve ever been upset with God because something didn’t happen that you were trying to have faith for, ask for forgiveness. Ask for help to keep your faith in Him alone.