Faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things unseen

Faith is a wonderful thing but not an easy thing for most people to understand. Faith is believing that something is and not actually seeing what it is or how it will manifest itself in reality. We can have faith in a lot of things and people but rarely do they meet the expectations of the heart and mind we put towards them. On rare occasions they can exceed those expectations.

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen, This was actually how Chapter 11 in the Book of Hebrews begins. The chapter is universally known as the faith chapter. It is the one place in the bible that describes what faith is in the basic terms to show the reader what it looks like. The rest of the chapter details those who acted on their faith and how they believed it would be fulfilled. Some saw it fulfilled in their lives while others like Abraham of the Old Testament died before they were fulfilled. Still the faith he had in the promises of the Lord is what motivated him to live and pursue righteousness, knowing that someday through faith he would see their fulfillment.

Faith described in Hebrews 11 is just that, faith that drives the entirety of your life. You believe you were made to do something, naturally you pursue what you thought you were made for. Faith is knowing that through your actions for what you hoped for will be realized in the end. The loss of faith or the unfulfillment of faith can damage a person to the core of their being.

We are blessed to realize that we have a God and His son who are responsible for our faith. One thing the Christian realizes is that in Jesus Christ, even the faith we do have is not our own. Further into Hebrews we see that in Chapter 12, the author is not even us:

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith. All things we do are because he is perfecting us for the promises of the Kingdom of God that lies ahead for all believers. When we see these truths in the bible we have one very great take away from it all. This is our life not only belongs to him but he is preparing us for what is to come. Like with Abraham everything we live and endure now is preparing us for the glory to come in its fulfillment. Triumphs and failures, hurts and healing, successes and failures, Letting go and embracing, all lead to our glorification in the end.

We may not know why we have the blessing and trials we do but through what He promises in the bible that through this faith they will work for our good. This is the faith that drives us from deep within ourselves every day.

Your Brother in Christ,

Steve Koenig

Lakeshore Fellowship