Have you learned to develop faith in God’s word? The events of 2020 have taught us that life can be unpredictable and full of surprises. No one expected a pandemic or the closure of churches, schools, and workplaces. It’s possible that many of us were caught off-guard by all the unexpected changes. However, we must always remember that God is still in control, even when things are not going as planned.

When everything around us changes, there are two choices. We can go through the situation with or without the help of our Heavenly Father. God allows us to choose, but we should always strive to place our faith in God and his Holy Word.

I can still vividly recall the day I received the devastating news that I had contracted COVID-19. As a Speech-Language Pathologist working in a school, I had to stay home and isolate myself from everyone. Sadly, my positive COVID test resulted in the school authorities sending 56 students home to quarantine as a preventive measure. In my heart, I was aware that I had been extremely cautious, using hand sanitizers and wearing masks, which left me wondering why I still got sick.

During this time, the enemy tried to make me feel like my positive test was an indication of something wrong in my relationship with God. The enemy wanted to weaken my faith, but I prayed and asked God for help. As I stayed home and recovered, I continued to pray and spend time with God, and I learned so much during this time.

Humans tend to gravitate toward something whenever things shift, leading us down unfamiliar and uncharted waters. The enemy will try to use this time to lure people to abuse substances, partake in domestic violence, or succumb to emotional instability. God wants us to run to Him. Rather than turn down dark pathways that will not bring us closer to God, we must rightly choose to draw closer to God by activating our faith in the one who never changes.

How Does the Bible Define Faith, and What is Great Faith?

Defining faith is not easy, but we look to the Bible to help us understand as we ponder a definition. The Bible explains that “now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1 KJV)”. Faith reminds us that God works even when we cannot see it.

Hebrews 11 is often cited as “faith’s hall of fame” because it recounts people’s faith in the Bible. As we look at the Bible, we see that regardless of who the writer wrote about in Hebrews 11, the common thread was that they obeyed God’s Word.

• By faith, Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear, constructed an ark to save his household.
• By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.
• By faith, Sarah herself received the power to conceive, even when she was past the age since she considered him faithful, who had promised.

As we look closely, we see that the Bible shows us that faith is related to hearing God’s Words, believing, and moving in obedience. There are instances in the Bible where Jesus declares that someone has “great faith.”

In Matthew 15:21-28, A Canaanite woman comes to Jesus because she wants Jesus to heal her daughter, oppressed by a demon. As she spoke, the Bible says that Jesus initially did not answer her, and the disciples tried to send her away. As we read the account, we realize that the Canaanite woman was relentless. She understood the power that would come if Jesus spoke to her situation. She was willing to wait for Jesus to give her just a crumb. Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

Another time where Jesus states that someone had great faith is noted in Luke 7 when a Centurian sought Jesus to heal his servant. The Centurian did not feel worthy to come to Jesus or to have Jesus come to his home, but he truly believed that if Jesus spoke a word, his servant would receive healing.

In Luke 7:7 KJV, the Centurian says, “Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed.” The Centurian showed that he knew what it meant to be taken at his word and obeyed. He clearly understood the power in Jesus’ words, and it seems this is what caused Jesus to say that the Centurian man had great faith.

Faith Has Life-Altering Benefits

While studying and writing this post, I was awakened at night and grabbed my pen to write the definition God spoke into my spirit. Faith is a belief, trust, and obedience to God and His Word, leading to life-altering benefits. It is a belief that if God speaks into a situation, the situation will change despite the odds or what it looks like, and faith requires being all-in despite earthly consequences.

We understand that faith has life-altering benefits when we look again at Hebrews 11. We can see that all of those mentioned in Hebrews 11 experienced life-altering changes when they believed in God’s Word. Think of the chain reaction of events that happened because of Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Sarah’s obedience. God blessed the faithfulness of His people. The Bible shows us the relationship between faith and obedience to God’s Word and the life-altering benefits that faith brings throughout Hebrews 11 and all of the Bible.

As children of God, when we obey God’s Word and trust God with our lives through faith in Jesus as our Savior, we can experience the life-altering benefits that God offers. As we continue to live surrendered lives, he changes us, directs our paths, and blesses others through our obedience.

Have Faith In The Word of God

We must learn to have faith in the Word of God because it holds the power to win every fight against the enemy. The enemy knows that there is power in the Word of God, so he will try to attack our belief in the Word. The enemy works so hard to keep us from reading the Bible, attending church, or doing anything that will cause our faith in God’s Word to grow. The Bible tells us that faith grows when we hear the Word of God (Romans 10:17), and if we are of God, we hear His Words (John 8:47).

God tells us that His Word will not pass away (Matthew 24:35) but will stand forever (Isaiah 40:8), and will go out from God, and not return empty, but accomplish and succeed the thing for which it was sent (Isaiah 55:11). Every Word of God proves true (Proverbs 30:5), and nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37). God tells us to take up the shield of faith against the enemy because it can extinguish all of the enemy’s fiery darts. (Ephesians 6:16).

Jesus showed us how to battle the enemy with the Word of God. He did this when the enemy came to him in the wilderness after Jesus had been fasting. The enemy knew that Jesus was hungry, so he tempted Jesus to command the stones to become bread. Jesus refuted the enemy with the Word of God.

Each time the enemy came, Jesus stated, “It is written.” the enemy continued to bother Jesus (Mathew 4:7,10), but each time Jesus responded by quoting God’s word to the enemy. In doing so, Jesus shows us that the Word of God defeats the enemy.

With Jesus as our example, we learn that we must activate God’s Word as our weapon of faith against all the enemy throws at us. Whether it is a sickness, financial lack, or if we battle some addiction or sin, God has given us the keys to victory. We can find all of the answers that we need in His Word.

Faith Must Be Unwavering

Our faith must be unwavering. In Romans 4, the Bible tells us more about Abraham’s faith as it declares that “no unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” (Romans 4:20-22).

Obedience and unwavering trust in the Words spoken by God are essential to the definition of faith. Jesus reminds us in Mark 11:22-24 to have faith in God and tells us the importance of speaking and not doubting when we pray.

So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.  Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

Mark 11:22-24 ESV

Additionally, it is crucial to discount and not rely on what we see with our physical eyes. We must put all faith in God and His Word. God expects us to be all-in and unwavering. Our faith does not depend on what we see, feel, or think but relies only on God’s words and what we know that He can do.

Expect Faith To Be Tested

We must expect testing of our faith as God’s word says that our faith becomes steadfast through the tests, which means it becomes firm and unwavering. The Bible tells us that even though Abraham knew that God had given him Issac, God tested Abraham’s faith when He told Abraham to sacrifice his son (Genesis 22). When Abraham demonstrated that he was willing to obey God’s words, God supplied a ram to offer instead.

When I received a positive Covid-19 test, I had to decide how to handle the news. Would I trust God and His Word, knowing He can heal and protect me, or would I become fearful? I had to remember that there is power in the Word of God that is bigger than any fear or sickness.

A Simple Prayer For Increased Faith

Jesus is the Word of God that became flesh and walked among us to show us the way (John 1). He offers us a way to defeat the enemy. We must believe and trust God’s Word. Let’s pray in faith, asking God to help us. Let’s learn to use God’s Word when we pray to defeat the enemy and enjoy the life-altering benefits that faith produces.