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Faith – wow! This simple word seems to carry so much weight and controversy. The

Bible teaches us that faith is the “substance of things hoped for and evidence of things not seen,”

(Hebrews 11:1 KJV) but what does that really mean and how do we work that out in our spiritual

life? I think Eugene Petersen rightly renders this verse,

“The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm
foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we
can’t see.” (Hebrews 11:1 MSG).

Faith is simply my ability to trust God even when I cannot see what He is doing with my

human eye. This trust in God is the glue that holds my world together when everything around

me is falling apart; but I think the appropriate question we should be asking is, “How can I

develop this faith in God?”

Faith is an essential ingredient to our relationship with God. The writer said, “For without

faith it is impossible to please Him [God] (Hebrews 11:6).” My journey to salvation begins with

faith. In my wretched and sinful state I must first believe that God is able to do something about

my sin – I must trust Him. Trusting Him to wash away my sins is the catalyst to progressing

further down the road to the new birth. My faith in His power pleases God! Nevertheless, faith is

not just for salvation. Trusting Him with my sin and trusting Him with my finances are two very

different animals. Faith must be built.

The Apostle Jude gives us some practical steps to building our personal faith. His first

step in faith building is to “pray in the Holy Ghost.” Secondly, he tells us to keep ourselves in the

love of God and the mercy of Christ. Jude further admonishes us to have compassion and make a

difference (cf. Jude 20-22). As we pray in the Holy Ghost we are edified personally and our trust

in God grows. As the trust builds we learn to abide in the love of God. These two personal steps

should push us then to the third: compassion.

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Compassion is active faith! My faith and my compassion go hand in hand. This dual edge

sword can prove to be an awesome challenge to my relationship with God. If my faith is

displayed in my compassion for man then where is my faith when my compassion is lacking?

When I see the drunkard on the street or the prostitute vying for the attention of another trick,

where is my faith – my compassion? Do I only trust God to help me reach those who are most

like me?

I live and work with a vast number of cultures that are not my own. No matter how hard I

try I will never be an insider but will forever remain on the outside looking in. I have come to

terms with this and the Lord is always opening doors; but compassion recognizes no culture and

sees no color. I must overcome my need for comfortable surroundings. I do this by putting my

faith into action (even when I do not feel like it) and trust that God can and will save whosoever

will. His grace is not limited by my shortcomings. I meet the challenge head on – how? I pray in

the Holy Ghost. I work to abide in the love of God and then I trust that the compassion of Christ

will work through my hands across all cultural barriers.

My faith has been challenged in more ways than I care to count. I have learned, however,

to find faith in the tragic moments as well as the joyous. This is not always easy and I am not

always faithful but I press on. This pressing requires, that I recognize my shortcomings then fall

on God’s greatness. This pressing requires that I see with eyes of the Spirit that I may look

beyond the faults of men and see their greatest need: faith!