What We Put Faith In … Is What We Put Feet In

Faith is a curious thing. We can’t see it, hold it, smell it or taste it. People talk about it all the time, but it doesn’t mean the same thing for everyone.

 

‘You’ve got to have faith,’ we’re told – but faith in what? When the subject turns to “people of faith,” that can include people coming from a wide range of religious and spiritual backgrounds and beliefs, some that follow tenets diametrically opposed to others. Then there are those who seem to think simply having faith in faith is enough. “I have faith that things will just work out.”

 

Faith can manifest itself in many ways. There’s the faith we all exercise in driving down a two-lane road, trusting the driver in opposite lane won’t swerve into ours, or the person at the next intersection will heed the stop sign and not pull out in front of us. We have faith in the physician who prescribes treatment or medication for our latest malady. Couples happily exchange wedding vows, having faith that their partner won’t later forget those vows.

We board airplanes in faith, trusting pilot and crew (and the plane) will transport us safely to our intended destination. We accept jobs in other parts of the country, selling the house and uprooting the family, acting in faith that the new job will work out. So, even non-religious folks have faith of some sort. But what’s it based on? 

 

At its essence, Christianity is all about faith. A full chapter in the Bible is devoted to citing exploits of many heroes of the faith. It opens with what amounts to a definition: “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). I like the New King James Version translation: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

 

But faith, the Scriptures inform us, isn’t a passive pursuit. Genuine faith demands action. Someone has termed it as, ‘putting feet to our faith.’ Because the Bible gives us many examples of people who took the first step before the Lord responded, whether providing for their needs, delivering them from danger, or performing miracles.

 

Hebrews 11:7, referring to Noah and the ark recounted in Genesis 6-8, states, “By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.” God had promised to save Noah, his wife, sons and their wives from the global flood – but Noah first had to obey by building the ark, something no one had ever done before.

 

Then the chapter cites Abraham, who put feet to his faith in the most literal way: “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8).

 

This was hardly Abraham’s only step of faith. James 2:21-22 reminds us, “Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.”

 

We can hardly turn a page of the Bible without encountering someone who either acted in obedience to God, according to their faith, or chose to rebel because they lacked faith. Here are some examples: 

The prophet Elijah, who built an altar to God and had it drenched with water, so when God sent fire from heaven to consume it, that would expose the prophets of the false gods (1 Kings 18:17-40).

The impoverished widow who obeyed another prophet, Elisha, by gathering empty jars from neighbors. God miraculously filled them all with oil, enabling her to pay off her debts and meet her and her sons’ needs (2 Kings 4:1-7).

Brothers Simon (Peter) and Andrew had spent an entire night without catching any fish. But at Jesus’ request, they again let down their nets, catching so many fish the nets nearly broke (Luke 5:1-11).

Jesus’ mother Mary, who came to Him when the wine at a wedding feast had run out. When He instructed that large jars be filled with water, the servants Mary had summoned did as they were told and Jesus turned the water into wine (John 2:1-11).

The invalid Jesus encountered who had been crippled for 38 years. When Jesus commanded, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk,” the man obeyed, standing for the first time in nearly four decades and walking – maybe even running – home (John 5:1-8).

 

The “walk of faith” for a follower of Jesus truly is that, putting one foot ahead of the other as we seek to go as the Lord guides and do as He directs. It’s not perching on a park bench somewhere, waiting for God to do something to resolve our problems or intervene in our circumstances. God does His part, but He also expects us to do ours – by faith.

 

The apostle James stated it this way: “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such a faith save him?... Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do…. As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead” (James 2:14,18,26).

 

We’re saved by grace through faith, as Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us. However, genuine faith inevitably reveals itself through action on our part: Waiting when the Lord impresses us to wait; moving forward when He tells us to go. What is the Lord asking you do – in faith?

Journey into the Fog

A couple of weekends ago I attended a men’s conference at a mountaintop retreat center. The weather forecast had been for rainy, overcast skies, but on the mountain a cloud descended and refused to leave.

As a result, we spent the weekend walking around in a fog. I’d been there once before, so I knew the layout. But for first-timers, venturing out from the lodge to the cafeteria or meeting hall with very limited visibility amounted to a walk of faith, either trusting that the person they were with knew the way, or relying on directions they’d received.

There’s something disconcerting about proceeding to an unseen destination in the darkening dusk, presuming the fog-enshrouded site is actually there waiting for you. It’s much more pleasant being able to see where you’re going.

In a very similar way, this journey we call life also amounts to a walk with extremely restricted visibility. Whether it involves our careers, families, finances, health, or other concerns for the future, none of us knows what lurks unseen around the next corner.

Life has taught me there will be many times when the way seems obscured, making it difficult to discern which way to go – or whether to go at all. And if you’re not in one of those times right now, be patient – you will be.

The good news is that God does know the way, and He can be trusted to guide our every step. For instance, the Scriptures tell us, “(His) word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path” (Psalm 119:105). As I understand it, that doesn’t refer to a long-range beacon illuminating the way several miles into the distance, but just far enough for us to advance a step or two at a time. Just like navigating an unfamiliar course in the fog.

There have been times when someone has given me directions to some destination, but I begin to question whether the suggested route is correct. “Did he mean right instead of left? Was I supposed to go this far?” That’s one reason the Bible exhorts, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6). Even when the way seems unfamiliar or risky, God promises to guide the way to where we need to go.

Some people wonder, however, “Can I really rely on the Bible? How can I trust in God’s promises?” That’s where faith comes in. As 2 Corinthians 5:7 affirms, “We walk by faith, not by sight.”

Life has taught me one certainty: God is faithful and reliable, 100 percent of the time. “God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” (Numbers 23:19).

So when the fog descends and it’s hard to see the way, trust in the Lord. He knows the way.