A Practical Word on Faith

We as Christians hear and speak about faith all the time, and many times we think about how fun, exciting or interesting a "life of faith" would be, but do we really understand what "living by faith is?" We as a community, it would seem, have come to understand living by faith as trusting God to heal a cold, or provide for us financially when we are a little low, but it should be so much more than that. That is only the first step. Living by faith should be much more like stepping out so far onto a limb that if God doesn't come through for you, you will die. We should be way out there, but the problem that I am beginning to see is that every time someone steps out that far, most of our brothers and sisters in Christ begin to pull back. They ask, "are you sure you heard from God?" or they say "That is not practical" or often use the term "good stewardship" instead of "practical". Having great faith is not about thanking God for the healing he has already given to someone who is really sick, or praying louder, or doing prophetic acts, it is about obedience, and faithfulness when it doesn't look good, or is inconvenient and believing that things really will change. 

I am not saying that God does not do supernatural and sudden healings, or financial miracles, but I am saying real faith is praying every day for however long it takes and believing for hearts to be changed. It is working at and believing for a good and whole marriage, and believing God that He will come through for you. Yet it is also risking financial insecurity if He asks you to spend a lot of money to do something impossible. It is praying for the dead to raise from the dead, but you can only raise people from the dead if you have spent a massive amount of time in prayer. There is the gift of healing, but you usually find it in people who have been faithful in many trials. Paul's faith was not that God would rescue him from persecution, but that because of his faithfulness, the people persecuting him would find the love of Christ. The reason that he was bitten by a snake and did not die is because he was displacing the pagan religion with the truth...not because he was playing with snakes and believing that God would not let him die. We are not using faith prove our own worth, but to establish Gods goodness and grace and power in this world. I guess what I am trying to say is that we should all take a minute to really evaluate what we think of faith, what we truly believe, and honestly challenge our own paradigms on the subject. I know you all believe it in your heads, but does your heart agree? If you were really being honest, what would you say about the way the church approaches faith today? Think about it. Pray about it. Decide. Run with it with all your might. See what He will do.