Faith it Till You Make It

   There are two powerful forces that you can choose to live by.  One is fear the other is faith.  One is negative the other is positive.  One will defeat you the other will cause you to succeed.

     Faith is the belief in a positive outcome.  Fear is the belief in a negative outcome.  Faith expects the best.  Fear expects the worst.  Neither is disappointed.

     Henry Ford once said, “If you believe you can or believe you can’t, you’re right.”  Jesus said, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to them that believe.”  This is true in both the negative and the positive sense.  You get what you believe.

     The Apostle Paul wrote, “God has not given you the spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind.”  God’s best is for you to face life with faith, confidence and positive expectation.  No wonder the Bible teaches us “The just shall live by faith.”

     Everything you do in life is either from a position of fear or faith.  Whether it is looking for a job, managing your money, your relationships with others, or anything else. 

     It is possible to see if a person is operating in fear or faith by what they do.  The old adage, “Action speaks louder than words,” is still true.  People operating in fear are constantly trying to protect what they have.  They are suspicious of others and their intentions.  They refuse to take a risk even if it’s a safe one.  As a result they are miserable, frustrated and easily defeated.

     People operating in faith on the other hand, are always looking for and expecting positive results.  They have the ability to believe in and trust others.  They are risk takers.  As a result they have positive outcomes.

     In order to experience success in life you must become a person of faith.  The Apostle Paul taught, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”  (Romans 10:17)  As you spend time in God’s word, focusing on what He has made available and promised to you, your faith grows.  By knowing what is available to you as a believer, and seeing what God has done for others that have believed, you are able to release your faith to receive positive results.

     While the world lives by the credo, “Fake it till you make it.”  Christians should live by the credo, “Faith it till you make it.”  The fact is if you live by faith you will make it!

How to faith it:

Faith must be grounded in God’s word.  Romans 10:17  “So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.”   Faith comes by hearing, understanding and receiving the promises that are in the word of God. Your faith is not to be grounded in your experiences or the experiences of others.  It is not grounded in what the so-called experts have to say.  Faith must be grounded in what God has said and promised in His word.  I choose to believe what God say over what the circumstances look like or the opinions of others.  Numbers 23:19 says, "God is not a man that He should lie."  God is a God of integrity.  What He says is true.  Begin today to ground your faith in the integrity of God's word.

Claim as yours what your faith has embraced from God’s word.  The Bible is a book filled with God’s promises to you.  In fact it is calculated that there are over 7000 of them.  They cover everything from health for your body, provision of your daily needs, success in all areas of your life as well as heaven after this life.  They are yours for the claiming.  Because you are a part of God’s kingdom and family you have a right to everything He has promised in His word.

Faith is released through words.  Proverbs 18:21 says,  “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”  Your words have power.   God spoke faith-backed words and created the world.  Your faith is released through the words you speak.  Mark 11:23 says, “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will come to pass, he will have whatever he says.”  Jesus plainly teaches in this verse that faith is released through the words you speak.

Faith is released through actions.  James 2:17 declares,  “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”  A person’s faith is seen not in what they say but in what they do.  There is no such thing as success without action.  Our faith is released when we obey God's principle's and instructions.  "If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land."

Faith sees what can be, not what is.  Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”  Notice, faith is the substance or assurance of things hoped for.   According to Strong’s Dictionary of New Testament words, the word “hope” means, “to anticipate, usually with pleasure, expectation or confidence.”  Hope then, is the vision of your faith—the end result.  So then faith is the inner image of the finished product.  It is seeing things as they can be not as they currently are. 

Faith plus patience equals results.  Hebrews 6:12 says,  “that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”  Patience is not the ability to put up with something, but rather the ability to continue in faith until you see the reality of what you are believing for.  It means being steadfast, continuous plodding toward a goal, with no faltering or turning aside or stooping to take a break.  By being patient we are promised great rewards or results.  Hebrews 10:36  “For you have need of patience, that, after you have done the will of God, you might receive the promise.”