The concept of faith has been something which I have continually pondered over and meditated on most of my adult life. It went from being something which I had often heard but never understood – a curiosity – to something which is absolutely vital to my life-walk with Christ.

In its simplest form, faith is basically an absolute trust in God and the validity and surety of His promises. Now the popular television and movies today like to paint the Bible believing “Christian” as a radical nut job that is only vaguely aware of scripture and a few fries short of a Happy Meal. However it is vital to understand although sad to admit that a vast majority of those who claim to be “Christians” actually have no relationship at all with the Lord, have no true knowledge of scripture and live the most ungodly lives imaginable.

Now please understand that I am not saying any of that with a judgmental attitude, but sadly all of it is true. I mention it because if you or I were to go and ask the average “Christian” about the concept and meaning of faith, they would have no clue where to begin.  The fact of the matter is that I do not even label myself as a “Christian” because I am greatly disheartened at what the term has become representative of. When someone asks me about my religion, I call myself a “Follower of Christ”, but never a “Christian”.

So please if you have had discussions about faith with “Christians” that have left you with a sick feeling, you are not alone! The things that I write about here are not things that I have learned in any Church, nor learned in any Bible school, but things which I have found to be true in my own life experiences and through my own personal relationship with the Lord.

Now the Bible makes it quite clear that faith is absolutely vital to a relationship with God, in Hebrews 11:6:

“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” 

So it is to our benefit that we learn all we can about faith and cultivate it in our lives as much as possible, and that is stating in mildly.

As I have stated previously, in its most basic form faith is simply an absolutely trust in God and total acceptance of His promises… basically, He will do what He says, without question.

Now I have heard it said by some that I have spoken with “I simply have trouble trusting God”, and to that my reply is always the same. It doesn’t surprise me that people have difficulty trusting someone that they don’t know or have never met!

In order to trust in God fully, we must get to know Him. Learn about His giving and Forgiving character. Once we know Him, we will find it easier to trust Him.

Still others have said, “I just don’t have any faith, that  is my problem.”

Well that is simply not the case. The Bible states plainly that everyone has some faith. This is found in Romans 12:3:

“For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” 

Now this scripture is mainly stating that one should not think that he is better than any other, because we all have received a portion of faith by the grace of God.

Now some of us don’t use it as we should. Some use what I call “Negative Faith” always believing that the worst will happen to them… The list of misuses of faith could be nearly endless; but we all have been given some, to either cultivate to the honor of God or not, the choice is ours.

To study faith is one of the most beneficial tings we can do, it is absolutely essential to having a strong and healthy connection to our Vine.