Exercise your Faith

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1

My favorite pastor used to say that “if you can believe Genesis 1:1, you have the Bible licked.” So true. From the first verse, the Bible is a book of faith. Depending on the version of the Bible, the word faith is used 336 to 458 times throughout Scripture.

Biblical faith is defined in Hebrews 11:1 as “being sure of what you hope for, certain of what you cannot see.”

Belief is faith in the unseen, like believing in the wind. I can’t see the wind, but, after the tornado flew over our house with 100 mph winds, I believe the wind exists. I saw evidence of the wind.

In Matthew 8 and 9, Jesus is about 30 years old, and his ministry has much momentum. He is preaching and healing the multitudes. In these two chapters of the Bible, God gives us picture after picture of what faith looks like, and Jesus always responded to faith.

A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. Matthew 8:2-3

When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6 “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.” Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?” The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment. Matthew 8:5-8, 13

While he was saying this, a synagogue leader came and knelt before him and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.” After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. Matthew 9:18, 25

Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.” Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment. Matthew 9:20-22

As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they replied. Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you”; and their sight was restored. Matthew 9:27-30

One commonality in these stories is that faith was very personal to each individual. Each person believed enough to act. Nothing was going to stop them from exercising their faith. The miraculous happened because they exercised their faith.

Faith is a great act of grace. I say this because the Bible tells that “faith is a gift from God” in Ephesians 2:8. God gives faith freely as a gift. My ability to believe in the unseen is a gift from God. With this grace, I am compelled to exercise my faith. And, when I exercise my faith, my belief increases.

Zig Ziglar illustrated this as he talked about goals. If you are standing at point A, point C looks impossible to reach from your position. He said that you can’t get from point A to point C without going through point B. When you get to point B, you will see things differently. Point C will look achievable.

And, so it is with faith. As you exercise faith, your belief will increase. Exercising can look like reading scripture, prayer, serving others, etc.

Before I leave this topic, I have to share one story about a gentleman exercising his faith. The following hand-written verse sits on my desk as I type this.

And without faith it is impossible to please Him for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. Hebrews 11:6

The verse is handwritten on a crumbled sheet of paper in cursive, black ink. Mr. E. O. Ray II, who I have never met, wrote this. I know this because his name is at the top of the crumbled piece of paper.

Early Sunday morning, the week after my dad died, I didn’t feel like going to church. I was dealing with many emotions, and I went for a long jog through the woods. As I was running, the above mentioned piece of wadded paper blew across the trail. I thought nothing of it, but, for some reason, I stopped, jogged back, and picked it up. I put the paper in my pocket and ran the four miles back to my house. When I was back home, I remembered the piece of paper in my pocket, pulled it out, and read that verse. Dad and I used to talk about Hebrews 11 a lot whenever we talked about faith and belief. Needless to say, this experience, this piece of paper ministered to me, increased my faith. It continues to minister to me today. Each morning when I sit down at my desk, I remember the events of that morning and how God uniquely spoke to me through Mr. Ray.

I don’t want to overly spirutualize that story. What is told above is exactly as it happened. What I do want to share is about E. O. Ray. I have no idea what was going on in his life when he wrote that verse. I do know that he was exercising his faith, thinking and writing scripture. His commitment to his faith, His God, impacted me forever.

The greatest thing about exercising your faith is that you will impact others more than you will ever know. Do you have faith? Praise God for the gift and exercise it. People will be impacted.

Impact others. Live generously.

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