I wrote this devotional for a Ladies Fellowship meeting and thought I would share it with you!
To God be the glory

Faith

The Bible describes faith in Hebrews 11:1: Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

The dictionary says this about the word ‘faith’: allegiance to duty or a person; fidelity to one’s promises; belief and trust in and loyalty to God; firm belief in something for which there is no proof; complete trust, without doubt or question (Who can stand up to this? Who has never questioned their faith or trust in God?)
The dictionary goes further to say faith can be described also by these 6 words: faithful implies unswerving adherence to a person or thing or to an oath or promise by which a tie was contracted; loyal implies a firm resistance to any temptation to desert or betray; constant stresses continuing firmness of emotional attachment without necessarily implying strict obedience to promises or vows; staunch suggests fortitude and resolution in adherence and imperviousness to influences that would weaken it; steadfast implies a steady and unwavering course in love, allegiance or conviction; resolute implies firm determination to adhere to a cause or purpose.
By this description, is there any person who is faithful?

The dictionary also says this about the faithless: not to be relied upon, failure to keep a promise or pledge or any breach of allegiance or loyalty, failing to be true in any manner ranging from fickleness to cold treachery; lack of complete faithfulness in thought or words or actions, serious betrayal of trust, incapable of fidelity or reliability.

God has faith. Faith in what? In Himself, obviously, but more than that, I think. Faith in us. He had faith that Job would not curse God, no matter what happened to Job. He has faith to always leave a remnant here on earth, a people who are set apart, and will always praise the Lord. This is said throughout the Bible. The first ‘remnant’ of people was probably Noah and his family, but is first mentioned when Joseph saved Egypt and the surrounding people through the 7 year famine by doing exactly what God said. Who knew that being sold by your brothers, rejecting the advances of your boss’s wife and getting thrown in jail would lead to saving so many lives? God did.

2 Timothy 2: 11-13 says: 11 Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him;
12 if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us;
13 if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.

“What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God's faithfulness?” These questions were asked in Romans 3:3. And the answer- Not at all!- with an exclamation point. God’s faith is not based upon or built upon our faith. Our faith is built upon God’s faith.

Describing myself as faithless is something that I would never do… Unless I was confronted by what was spoken earlier from the dictionary. I don’t have complete faithfulness in thought or words or actions. Can I be considered reliable or capable of being true and not fickle? Do my day to day actions, thoughts and words show my faith?

How is it that some people have large amounts of faith and others just kind of float along with whatever happens in life? Which one am I and which one do I want to be? Of course I want the outrageous, overflowing, abundant faith. I want to please God.

Two things amazed Jesus in the Gospels: lack of faith and the abundance of faith. “Great faith,” as Jesus said. Where faith lacked, Jesus’ work was hindered. Where faith was overflowing, all you had to do was touch the hem of Jesus’ robe, or just speak to Him, you just had to seek Him out. Put action into the faith.

Some people said to Jesus, “Increase my faith.” Jesus never said that we had enough faith, or that asking for more was a waste of time. He did speak about how just the tiniest bit of faith, like a mustard seed, can move mountains. Peter spoke about adding to our faith in 2 Peter 1:5, about taking a step beyond faith, which is goodness, and then more steps after that. We are also to accept those whose faith is weak, according to Romans 14:1.

Our faith should be evident to those around us. James says that faith without deeds is dead in Chapter 2. We can have good deeds without faith, but we cannot have faith without good deeds. They go hand in hand. Can others around us see our faith? What do you think God thinks about your faith? Is it in action right now- today?

What does faith bring us? For starters, it brings justification, according to Galatians 3:24. With faith we believe in our hearts that Christ was raised from the dead and is even now an intercessor for us with the Father, and it is with our mouth that we confess and are saved. Faith, trust, brings about the salvation. Faith in God’s faith- that He is who He says He is and will do what He says He can do.

What about after salvation? The Armor of God includes a shield of faith. What is a shield for? It’s something that protects or defends from injury an otherwise exposed person. It’s also a decorative or identifying emblem (policeman’s badge). Are we easily identified? Is our shield scratched? Dirty? Dented? Then it must be identifiable to our enemy. If it’s clean and pristine, our enemy must not be concerned about stopping whatever’s behind the shield.

We can encourage each other’s faith. Encourage each other today. We live by faith, not by sight. Are you looking to increase your faith today? To have the faith that is shown by your actions, words and even your thoughts?

Let’s pray:
Righteous Father,
Let our eyes and hearts be opened to what You have been speaking here. I pray that Your Holy Spirit has been at work among us, hovering about us now. Your Word says that without faith it is impossible to please God. That means with faith, it is possible to please You. Lord, we want to please You. Refresh us now, renew our hearts, minds and spirits to Your will. You tell us to be faithful to the point of death. Lord, we need Your strength in order to do that. We want to be steadfast for You. We want to hear Your words- Well done, good and faithful servant- at the end of our life. But while we are here on earth, let us be effective to those around us; don’t let our faith die or be useless. Let it instead always point others towards you, either for salvation or for encouragement. Lord, let each woman’s faith grow today. We want more than mustard seeds of faith- give us redwood trees. Lord, let us be found worthy. Not because of who we are or what good deeds we have done, but because Your Son, Jesus Christ, is in us and we are justified through Him. Let our faith, our lives, be a reflection of You in us.
In the powerful Name of Jesus Christ, who we gladly say is powerful enough, honest enough, faithful enough, loyal enough, to do these things in us and more… Amen.