What is Faith?

“I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (Psalm 27: 13).  

As we ponder the definition of faith we hear it said that believing is seeing.  “When I see it I’ll believe it” is the way some would put it.  In the verse quoted above David clearly writes that we believe first and then our believing leads us to the seeing of what we believe.

Biblical faith always has an unseen object.  According to other Scriptures there will always be evidence that the unseen object of our faith exists, but when our faith is biblical faith the object of that faith will be unseen (Hebrews 11:6).  Seeing does not lead to believing because we already have the object of our faith when we see, but believing does lead to seeing according to David and other authors of the Bible.

A rural pastor told his people that when they invited him home for dinner after church he was always hoping they would have southern fried chicken.  If he had no reason to believe that would be the menu he could only hope there would be chicken for dinner.  But when he came into their home if he smelled chicken and if he saw from the living room chicken gravy on the dining room table, those things were the evidence of the object he could not see.  He could now believe there was chicken in the kitchen and he would have it for dinner.

David tells us that after the believing that leads to seeing, all we have to do is wait on the Lord until we see the object of our faith.  Are you believing God for something you cannot yet see?

2 Responses to What is Faith?

  1. Art Jensen says:

    Chicken for Sunday Dinner!!!! When I was a student pastor/seminarian 45 years ago, I served two small country churches in central Virginia. Every Sunday I would be invited to dinner by some saint and his/her family -heaps of fried chicken, snap beans, mashed potatoes, sweet iced tea, and a bag of ripe tomatoes and corn to take home. We ate so much fried chicken on Sunday, we called it “The Gospel Bird”!!! Dick comments on faith recalled this precious memory for me.
    Rev Art Jensen

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