Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Faith. It’s a simple word used a great deal. Easily thrown out there during a conversation or brief interaction. How often do you really think about that word and what it means? Let’s look at the word faith and break it down a bit.
On Dictionary.com, faith is defined as a noun in 6 ways: (1) confidence or trust in a person or thing: faith in another's ability. (2) belief that is not based on proof: He had faith that the hypothesis would be substantiated by fact. (3) belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion: the firm faith of the Pilgrims. (4) belief in anything, as a code of ethics, standards of merit, etc.: to be of the same faith with someone concerning honesty. (5) a system of religious belief: the Christian faith; the Jewish faith. (6) the obligation of loyalty or fidelity to a person, promise, engagement, etc.: Failure to appear would be breaking faith.
Looking at the definition it shows me that it all comes down to Hebrews 11:1 stated above. Faith is something we hope for, believe in, but it is not based on anything we see. I believe faith has nothing to do with what we see with our eyes or have evidence in our hands. It’s a hope, a belief, in what we don’t see but believe to be true.
Many people want to see a miracle. People want to see, to touch, in order to believe. They want evidence. Even back in Jesus’ time, people wanted to see miracles, and they did! Even when they saw the miracles that Jesus did, that the apostles did, they still did not believe. We read in the gospels all about Jesus, the miracles of the 2 loaves and 5 fishes, stilling a raging storm, and all the other times Jesus did what we would call a miracle. Still, they did not believe.
Even with everything right there before their eyes, with Jesus right there, only a few truly believed. Only a few had faith. How do we know this? Because they still crucified Jesus, we still crucified Jesus. Of course, the Old Testament speaks of Jesus coming and we all know He was the lamb offering for our sins. It had to be. But still, the point is there. They had the “proof” and still they did not believe.
For me, believing in God is easy. It’s not what I see, even though I see God’s creations all around me, it’s what I feel in my heart. I feel His presence. I feel Him touching my life. I can’t see it. I can’t touch Him, but I feel Him moving in my heart. In the quiet moments when I close my eyes and talk to Him, I feel Him in my heart. That is what gives me faith in Him.
Spend some time quietly talking with Him. Feel His presence and feel His loving embrace.