Biblical faith is reasonable. It is not a leap in the dark, but a step into the light. You could fill a library with books giving evidence of the Bible’s trustworthiness. Hundreds of millions of Christian lives stand as a testimony to the Bible’s authenticity. The Bible is a book of prophecy proven by history.
But despite the mountains of evidence, we still need faith. In fact, we are creatures of faith. We need faith to operate in our world. We must have faith because we are not omniscient. We don’t know everything. We operate on faith constantly. We don’t fret about whether a light switch will bring illumination to a room. We have faith that it will work even though it doesn’t always. Maybe the bulb has burned out. We don’t know until we flip the switch, but it doesn’t keep us from flipping it. That’s faith.
We have faith in the laws of physics. We expect gravity to work. We believe the sun’s light will warm the earth. We have faith the ground before us will be solid enough to support us. Such faith allows us to walk and move. It allows us to function in the world.
Faith doesn’t mean all your questions are answered. In fact, you need faith because all your questions have not been answered. You might not have a clue why flipping the switch causes the light to come on. Einstein’s General Theory of Relatively leaves most people scratching their heads. But whether you know how gravity works or not, you still believe in it. You have faith in it. That faith is based on evidence, but even evidence requires faith.
Without faith in basic things — without an ability to go from strong evidence to a reasonable faith — we would be paralyzed. Fear would overtake us, stop us from doing necessary things, like driving cars or cooking meals. Stepping into the crosswalk takes faith. Marriage is based on faith. In fact, all relationships require faith.
Is it any wonder then that faith is also required in our relationship with God? Hebrews 11:6 says, “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.”
There are two amazing things everyone needs to know about faith. First, even a little faith can have amazing results. In Matthew 17:20, Jesus said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”
Second, faith is not something you psych yourself up to, or generate within yourself. It is a gift from God Himself. Ephesians 2:8 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.”
That verse refers to God giving faith for salvation. Remember that He also gives faith for living. Our part is to choose faith. And that means we choose to trust Him in the various circumstances of our lives. Trust Him when we think all is well, trust Him when we see no way out of a dark situation, and trust Him through everything in between. The past year has been especially hard on many of us because of Covid-19, riots and a hotly contested election. We must choose to have faith now more than ever and be assured that our God is still in control!