As I look ahead to 2023, I think my word for the year is FAITH - Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.” This verse follows ‘hope’ (my word from last year) so well. At first, when this came to my heart randomly a few weeks ago, I mostly brushed it off because I already have ‘faith’ in God. But saying I put my hope in Jesus is one thing, and actually taking action and putting substance to that hope is another. Hebrews 11 is full of examples of inspiring people who acted by faith, having no earthly eyes to see that God would come through, only eyes that chose to trust in the unseen and in the faithfulness of God. And the result is a Bible full of these testimonies so we, who can not only read these Old testament stories but also have the promise of Jesus who died for our sins, can have faith that the God who is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow (Hebrews 13:8) will come through for us as well.
Being someone who loves to plan and prepare and know what’s ahead, growing in faith means that I need to grow in letting go of control and the need to anticipate and see what’s coming. To take one day at a time and live fully in the present, trusting that God is working and will be with me ‘in the unseen’ which is tomorrow onwards! Matthew 6:11, part of the Lord’s prayer, says “Give us this day our daily bread”. We don’t need to sign up for an annual subscription to guarantee that God will meet all our needs. We can rest in the faith that even though we don’t see tomorrow yet, the evidence in His word and His promise is that He will give us the grace and strength for what He has called us to each day. Lamentations 3:22-23 says “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning, great is Your faithfulness”. We can have faith in His faithfulness and wake up each and every morning knowing God is with us today.
Looking at the link between faith and faithfulness, I came across this quote from an article by Pastor Everett Henes - “Faith is belief, assurance of God’s word and all that He has done. Faithfulness is living in accord with that truth. In other words, faith leads to faithfulness.” An extension of living by faith is being faithful to God. Reading His word more, spending more time in prayer with Him, and being obedient to His promptings because we believe and know Him to be the source of truth and life. As I live out of my faith and assurance in God by being faithful to come to Him regularly, I will be able to see God’s hand even more at work which in turn, will strengthen and grow my faith to do even more, and the cycle continues.
Another aspect of growing in faith is sharing it and not just keeping it for ourselves. If I do believe Jesus is the only way to heaven, then the substance and proof of that hope and assurance needs to be that I’m taking action to share that truth with others, having faith that the Holy Spirit is active in His word and moving people’s hearts. Romans 10:17 “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” So for the people around me to hear, someone (aka me) needs to speak. But this verse is also applicable to me because to strengthen my own heart and faith, I need to keep reading and hearing the Word. The words “evidence” and “things unseen” seem to be an oxymoron because evidence is often proven by seeing it. However, evidence can also be “heard” (the word of God) and being reminded of God’s faithfulness in the past can help us put our faith in Him in the future. Also, when the things we “see” are dark or unknown, it’s so reassuring to know God is still doing things “unseen”. Philippians 1:6 says “Being confident in this that He who began a good work in you will carry it to completion until the day of Jesus Christ”. This gives me so much encouragement - it’s hard sometimes to see the evidence of how we are growing but we can be confident and have faith in God, knowing that He is working in us and through us to make us more like Him as we delight in Him and His word. I have very little idea of what this year will look like - what challenges, what joys, what experiences, what opportunities, and what ‘lessons to learn’ that will come, but I pray that you are encouraged by this post to have faith in Him and His faithfulness to us as you go into this year.
