Where’s the Faith?

What is it that we put our faith in? Do we put our faith in the people we surround ourselves with, the government, our jobs, the economy, the church, our family; I am sure the list could be quite lengthy, but the question I would ask is do we have faith in God, and do our lives prove that to be the case? In Romans 1:17 Paul reminds us that God’s word says, "The righteous will live by faith."

Depending on what the faith is in, this may or may not be that hard in this country. We are so prosperous that often we don’t have to live by faith in God at all. In many countries when someone gets sick they have nothing but faith to rely on because there is no access to medical facilities. There are hundreds of thousands of people all over the world who have no idea when their next meal will be but in America, by and large this is not an issue that we even consider. Many times we just rush through the drive through so that we can hurry on our way to our next appointment.

There are many in the world who have only one set of clothes or maybe even none at all but we spend hundreds of dollars each year for the latest styles and fashions. There are also many people who have to worry about shelter around the world and rely on their faith in God. They have faith that he will provide for them in their need. But shelter for the vast majority of us here in this country is something that we almost take for granted.

So when I read these words that “the righteous will live by faith” I have to ask myself, how, in my life am I living by faith? How am I relying on God and not myself in the day to day? Where do I see God intervening in my life and know that it is only by his grace that things happened the way that they did? And when I do see these things am I giving him the glory and honor or am I taking it? Where is the faith that I claim to have in Christ evident in the choices and decisions that I make?

These can be some interesting questions to ponder this week. And I am sure that many of you will have difficulty answering some of them, as I did. We are so blessed to live in a country of freedom and a country of prosperity but often this can be a downfall to those who claim to have faith in God. This happens because more often than not we have learned to place a higher level of faith in our finances and our wealth rather than on the one who provided it for us; God.

It is our wealth that we often look to first when difficult situations arise. And it is our wealth that we often look to when we are in a deep hole and need to find answers to the problems that we are facing. Now you may be thinking to yourself that you would not consider yourself wealthy, but even our poorest people here in the United States are more wealthy than somewhere around 90-95% of the rest of world.

In the last few years many people have lost their wealth with the fall in the stock market, the loss of 401k accounts, the loss of jobs and many other things that have been affected by our economy. But despite it all God has not changed and he never will. Many people have had their faith tested because the first thing that they put their faith in was themselves, their wealth and their ability to take care of themselves. But in its own way it is funny how when the chips are down many times people run to God and their faith is renewed in the Almighty. We saw this happen after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Church attendance was up by double digits for about two months. People were beating down the doors of the church because they were facing a crisis that was bigger than they could handle themselves. But as soon as their lives returned to a sense of normalcy they took the reigns again and shifted their faith back toward themselves.

The Bible however says, “the righteous will live by faith”. Now I am not saying that you have to put yourself in tough situations. When life’s problems come along I am not saying that if you have money to help that you should not use it but I am saying that the focus of our hearts and our faith should be in God to provide first and foremost. We have to have faith in the one who created the universe yet cares about each of us in a personal way. A way in which he wants to hear about what we are going through and wants us to put our faith in the one who can walk with us through it (i.e. Him).

There are a couple of questions that I want you to meditate on this week:

1. Would you say that your life is one that is lived by faith in God or one that is lived by faith in your ability to solve the problem?

2. What things can I do to put God first in my life so that when my faith is tested, great or small, I am looking to him first and not myself or others?

3. Also ask yourself if you see God at work around you and give him glory and thanks as he works in your life and builds your faith, even in the small things.