A primary fact that we need to know is that our faith operates in conjunction with the level of knowledge that we have concerning God’s love for us. “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you” (1 Peter 5:7). Christians desperately need to understand that God does love and care for them. God’s children must believe that their Heavenly Father deeply loves them. Without such an understanding, the Christian’s faith is greatly limited. The reason for this is that God is the object of our faith.
“And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God” (Mark 11:22). True faith is focused on God, so if we question the character of the source of our faith, our faith will waiver. Sometimes Christians have faith in their “15 steps to answered prayer” that they heard Rev. John Doe preach about. Their faith is in a system. But the wise Christian has faith in God. And the reason that you can trust God is because of his great love for his children. By understanding God’s great love for his family, we expect answers to our prayers because we have faith that a loving Father desires to bless his children. We have to fight against hindrances to our love for God.
One of the main reasons that Christians do not walk in a fervent love for God is that they attempt to understand God through their circumstances or through the life situations of others. “For we walk faith, not by sight:” (2 Corinthians 5:7). God must be understood through his word. If we examine the bad or unpleasant situations in our lives and shape our opinion of God based on these things, we will have a perverse concept of who God is. Our life condition does not necessarily reflect the character of God, but the Bible clearly and accurately presents the character of God. It is often difficult to ignore the pain in our lives and not in some way hold God responsible, but we must understand that what we believe to be true can in fact be a lie. We experience life in incomplete pictures, we do not know the entire story. Much of what happens in our lives is beyond our comprehension, we must trust God to manage our lives as we walk faithfully with him. And the main way that we get to know God is through his word. Another issue that can interfere with our love for God is other gods in our lives.
“No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stand devotedly by the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon [that is, your earthly possessions or anything else you trust in and rely on instead of God]” (Luke 16:11 AMP). God is the source of everything good in our lives, and we must acknowledge him as our source. When we look to anything other than God to provide for us, that thing becomes a false god. It is possible for a Christian to have false gods in their lives, and their loyalties are divided. As God’s word tells us, we can only love one God at a time. False gods in our lives diminish our love for God. Christians must understand that God is Lord over our entire existence, and all of our passions should be filtered through him. Food, sex, entertainment, or success can all be false gods. If we are to love God fully, we must actively seek to acknowledge him as our Lord and Master. Our own reasoning can hurt us as we attempt to love our Father.
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6). We are not able to comprehend many things about God or about his purposes. Christians must many times trust God and not attempt to analyze him. On this side of heaven, our limited minds cannot fully understand deep things of the Spirit. If we try to comprehend some situations in our lives our limited minds will often create reasons for those situations that are not at all true. When we do not understand God’s plan we need to still trust in his character and love. Embracing God’s love for us positions us to receive from him.
The source of our faith must be a source that we can trust. We can trust God because we know that he loves us. Our faith is not based on principles or systems, it is founded on God. The foundation of our faith is a sure foundation because it is based on God’s love. When standing in faith, seek to receive God’s love. This will give you the assurance that God is on your side, and he desires to bless and to prosper his children.
Grace and Faith Ministries 