How does the Bible inspire faith? Obviously it has to be read or studied to do that! When we do make ourselves familiar with the Bible we read many accounts of God's faithful working in the lives of his people. Just take a read through Hebrews 11 which lists many of what we call the 'heroes of faith'. From there you can look back on stories about these people and see how their faith formed and blessed their lives.
What then is faith? The first verse of Hebrews describes it as 'Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.' In The Message version says it this way, 'The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living.'
We all have faith in different things on an everyday level. We believe that our salary will be paid, we believe that an aeroplane will take us where we want to go, we believe that the chair we are about to sit on will hold our weight. Most of those things we don't even give a thought to because we have an expectation that it will happen.
Faith in God, as The Message Bible says, gives us a firm foundation for life, making it worth living. Faith in God gives meaning to life itself. It also gives us an assurance of eternal life forever with God. That's why it is important to pursue and grow our faith through reading the Bible.
Faith is NOT about God answering every prayer we pray. We cannot manipulate God with our faith.
The Bible tells me that my/our faith in God is a gift of his grace. He gave us the grace to believe that God is God, our creator, maker and sustainer. Hebrews 11:6 says this, '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 diligently seek Him.'
What does it mean to diligently seek God? I believe it is to make God the centrepiece of our life. When we do that, we will want to find out how to please him. We can only find that out by reading his Word, the Bible, by spending time with other believers in fellowship and by making church attendance and service a regular part of our life.
How does God reward his people? By giving them a peace about future. I believe He is in control. We trust our lives into his hands. This in turn gives us joy and for me, it fills me with thanksgiving. It also makes me feel secure in knowing that he loves me and wants the best for me.
I hope you will make it your purpose to study God's word, by yourself and with others. If you do, your faith will definitely be inspired.
PRAYER: Great and mighty creator God, I thank you for (or perhaps ask you for) the gift of faith that I might have the peace and joy of believing and trusting in you. Amen
