Many people see faith as a sort of currency we spend with God to get what we want or need from Him. The more of it you have, the bigger things you can buy. Many have blamed themselves for not having enough faith when things didn’t turn out the way they had prayed and hoped they would. In one church, I was told that the pastor’s wife had recently died because she didn’t have enough faith to be healed. Others blame their lack of faith for unfulfilled desires about finances, relationships, career advances, family struggles, and countless other things.
To these people, faith is something to be spent for gain, and if you don’t have it, you lose.
To take such a viewpoint seriously leads the logical mind to ask, “How, then, am I supposed to have more faith?” To be told “Just have faith” sounds reasonable to the one saying it, but to the person hearing those words, it feels easier said than done. How are we supposed to wholeheartedly believe for something that we simply aren’t sure is going to happen in our lives?
The challenge to have more faith about a specific outcome is often nothing more than a religious promotion for positive thinking.
It becomes a matter of faith in faith. It is a subtle but effective use of misdirection. Nothing is wrong with positive thinking, but don’t mistake it for faith.
People experience authentic faith when their focus is on the Faithful One. Faith is not wishful thinking enhanced by the steroids of positive expectations. Faith is confidence in the One who does all things well. Faith is the plain recognition of the presence of the One who determines and directs every outcome of every situation we will face in life. Faith is certainty based on the Person who is in charge of our circumstances regardless of the predicament we may be facing. In fact, our faith finds its very existence in that Person.
Faith Is a Person
Faith doesn’t originate from us. The question is not whether your belief is big enough or strong enough or pure enough to receive the outcome you want. Faith is about Jesus! He doesn’t hope for a certain outcome. He knows. You’ll be much better off leaning into His faith than trying to crank out your own.
We depend on His faith because only His faith is perfect and never fails.
Our trust is in Him because He is more than sufficient for every need we have and every obstacle we face in life. The faith you have isn’t based on your ability to conjure up enough positive vibes to get the job done. It’s not about us at all. “In Him we live and move and exist,” Luke wrote in Acts 17:28. That environment of perfect faith is a good place to live.
It is the faith of Christ that is ours. It is vicarious faith. He believes on our behalf, so all we need to do is trust Him. We don’t need to pray for faith. In Him we already have it. What we can muster up on our own isn’t enough to move a grain of sand. If you doubt me on that, just try it.
It isn’t your job to manufacture faith.
He (Faith) lives inside you and is more than able to rise to the occasion when faith is required, which is at every moment of life. Just as Jesus is your righteousness, peace, strength, and joy, so is He your faith. The union you share with Him is your only source for faith.
The revelation of this truth will free you from trying to believe in your own strength. It will cause you to know that it isn’t your faith that matters. In fact, there is no such thing as “my faith” because my faith is His faith, and His faith is based on His Father’s faithfulness. The vicarious faith of Jesus Christ is your faith. What a relief!
PS. Want to listen to an audio series that can really encourage you in the area of faith? Check out my series called, ‘Dreaming Big and Living Bigger.’
