Living by Faith

"I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20

What does living by faith really mean?

Have you ever stopped to ponder on this?

As a child growing up in a non Christian household, I was told that if I did not believe in Santa Claus, then he would not come down the chimney and leave any presents! I never saw him, but I truly believed and had faith that he would come. The excitement and anticipation on Christmas Eve was palpable for myself and my siblings. So I cannot tell you the upset, disappointment and how foolish I felt, when I was around 7 years old, and a girl at school told me that it wasn't true. I checked it out with my parents, wanting them to say that it was true, there was a Santa Claus, but they didn't, and I was devastated!

Today, we are living in an age when we as Christians are often considered foolish if we live by faith, that we believe in Jesus and all that He can do in us, and through us.

When people ask me if I really believe in the virgin birth of Jesus, or if I really believe Jesus died, was buried and rose from the dead, my answer is a resounding "yes."

Why?

Because God lives in me and I live by faith. I may not understand everything in the Bible, and often have difficulty explaining it, but I believe it all.

There will always be situations we can't explain, when we will have to trust God with all our hearts, and resist the temptation to exhaust ourselves trying to understand what we cannot. God has called us to "live by faith, not sight " (2 Corinthians 5:7).

As Hebrews 11:1 explains:

"Faith is confidence in what we hope for, and assurance about what we do not see."

As odd as it sounds, it can be easy to try and live the Christian life without faith. We can just go through the motions. This can happen for many reasons; perhaps life transitions, losses or other challenges, have depleted our faith and made us question God's care and power. Or perhaps we have become distracted, and stopped nurturing and exercising our faith, so it starts to wither.

Living by faith means living in a way that shows we confidently believe in God's promises. It means we don't just read passages of the Bible for comfort or reassurance, but we trust them enough to change our daily decisions, based on what they say. It's about cultivating a mindset of trust in God's plan and goodness, even when circumstances are difficult.

Faith isn't faith, unless it is expressed and lived so we are called to share our faith with others. The world needs us to be people who believe God, believe in God, who are willing to act on all that we say we believe, and on all that we profess to be truth from the Scripture. It's part of how we build endurance.

I am prepared to look foolish in these days, to be that person full of joy of the LORD. Who is full of the love of God. Who dares to believe our best days are ahead of us, and not behind us. Because God is who He says He is, and because He will do what He says He will do.

Won't you join me?

Let's remember we have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer we who live, but Christ lives in us.

Let's live by faith in the Son of God, who loved us and sacrificed His life for us.

God bless