Have Some Faith!

Faith, the Bible states, is the substance of things that one hopes for; it is the evidence of things unseen!

I don't think there is a more powerful phrasing of the definition of faith than that! When I think of faith, I think of the invisible being visible in the area of dreams and imagination. It is the formation of the uncreated in the consciousness of the person who hopes to bring those things that are not to existence. Every builder builds in faith - he builds in hopes to complete his plans the way he planned it. Every entreprenuer raises his pen in faith, hoping to bring dreams into reality. Faith is the substance - it is the house when the architect is just looking at the lot. Faith is the substance - it is the bustling of customers for the woman who is just looking at property for her new business. Faith is the job when one has just been recently fired. Faith makes men and women from all walks of life pursue dreams, chase opportunities, and embrace strangers in hope of fulfillment, success, and friendships.

Faith is also evidence. What I see in my spirit or in my mind is witnessed by faith. In the court of hope, when situations look grim and dark, faith is the key evidence that bears witness that the sun will shine and the rains will cease. Behind every great thinker, there is someone that believes he/she is crazy. Before society stamps honor to men/women who have done things that have never been done before, society considers these group of people as odd or "off". Faith in man states, "I know what I'm after because I have seen it already even if it has never been seen before."

So what does that have to do with those of us that are in the midst of struggle? Well, have faith!

"How?" one may ask.

Well faith, the idea of believing without seeing, I believe, is one of the greatest ascent of the mind. Man! A person has to be able to look past current situations, market stipulations, and one's own fear of failure to elevate to the realm of faith that moves mountains. The mind must be thoroughly convinced no matter what the senses are feeding it about the fulfillment of what it believes is able to achieve. So, to have faith then is to ascend into the heights of the spirit where the natural is outwieghed by the supernatural and the visible is brought to question by the invisble. (That's why a complete surrender to God is the ultimate expression of faith because the Invisible takes greater precedence than the visible.) To achieve faith then is to defeat doubt - meaning, it is to accept the reality of the unseen. When we lose a job the natural tendency is to worry, fear, and succumb to the feelings of defeat. Faith states that worry, fear, and feelings of defeat are real, BUT what is happening now is not what necessarily will be tomorrow. In fact, in faith, what will happen tomorrow, is going to be greater that what had happened today or yesterday.

Hope unfulfilled is exhausting and frustrating. Imagine hoping and hoping everyday for a miracle and the miracle does not happen. Hopelessness is the result of prolonged hope that has met dead-ends at every corner. Faith is not hoping against reality. Faith is the acceptance of reality with an understanding that those things that are real does not change the things that can be. Meaning, if the doctor has come to you and told you you have an incurable illness, faith understands that's reality. But what faith then does is, despite of the reality - the prognosis of the incurable disease - it does not change the fact that others have beat death before. Others have recieved healing before; men and women have had fulfilling lives despite a such prognosis. Faith understands that a diagnosis of pending death or hurt is not lethal until I allow it to kill my mind of dreams and hope. Faith is at times hoping against hope. Choosing life for death, joy for sorrow, happiness for sadness, and living instead of giving up!

A man by the name of Lance Armstrong was diagnosed with prostate cancer. His mind, filled with faith, accepted reality but determined to live surreally. By fighting the cancer, he was able to rise above the statistics into a national hero. Since Lance Armstrong had already done what others have thought was impossible, winning 7 straight Tour de France, fighting in faith for a recovery and remission is already in his DNA.

This is what I suggest: Live life in faith so that faith gets intertwined into your DNA. See the invisble! Do the impossible! Think above your circumstance! Live with your destiny in mind! Act as though you have been where you're going!

We bless you in Jesus Name!

Pastor L. Jones Ayudtud