Got Faith?

I recently preached a series on faith and I used an analogy of fish in water to describe the significance of faith in the life of the Christian. Faith to the Christian is what water is to Fish. When we consider the fact that a fish out of water for even a short amount of time will die, we come to understand that fish need to be surround by an environment of water to survive and thrive. For Fish to thrive, they must be sustained in an environment of water. Well, similarly, Christians must live by Faith in God in order for Christians to thrive and survive. The scriptures tell us in Romans 1:17 & Habakkuk 2:4 that “the just Shall Live by Faith” and 2 Corinthians 5:7 tells us that “We walk by Faith and not by Sight.” Faith is that substance (confident assurance) that what we are hoping for will happen and the evidence (proof) of things not seen.

As difficult and challenging as this life can become at times and although it does not always look like what we are hoping for is going to manifest, it is imperative that we allow our faith in God to lead us rather than what we can see. In other words, walk by faith and not by sight. When we walk by sight, we are allowing one of our five senses (sight) to lead us and if we’re honest about it, things are not always what they appear to be. Even though things look a certain way to us, God is a Spirit who reigns from an Eternal place that we cannot see, and we must not allow the circumstances that we can see discourage us because what we see with our physical eyes is not necessarily the conclusion of the matter. We must begin to look through the eyes of Faith. Faith and sight are two different things. If we can tangibly see it, then we don’t need faith. Faith goes beyond what we can see. Faith is having confident assurance that what we have hoped for is going to materialize or manifest despite how things look.

Remember, just like the fish cannot live without having an atmosphere of water, we as Christians, cannot live without an atmosphere of faith. As it is written in Romans 10:14-17, faith comes by hearing, hearing the Word of God. So, you must ask yourselves, ‘What are you hearing? – What/Who are you listening to? – What/Who are you surrounding yourself with?’ Faith is inspired by the Word of God. The seed of faith is sown into our hearts and our lives through the preached/taught word of God. However, it is key to understand that God must be the object of our faith in all things and in every aspect of our lives. Our faith is to be in God because it is He and He alone who has the power and ability to answer our prayers, meet our needs, and see us through all of life’s circumstances. Faith as the currency of the Kingdom of God gives us access to the resources of His Kingdom such as Healing, Deliverance, Provision, Protection, Victory, Joy and Strength. Walk by Faith, not by what you see and unlock the power of God in your life.

~ Dr. DeShonda Bailey, Lead Pastor