“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear…but without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
Hebrews 11:1-3 & 6
As we reflect on all the gifts of God’s blessings during this season of giving, we may find that the greatest gift that we have and can give, is the gift of our faith in Christ.
In Romans 12:3 we are told that we who believe on Jesus have all been given “the measure of faith.” This is the greatest gift we could ever receive. Through our faith in Jesus, not only did we get born again and have all our sins remitted, but we were then adopted into God’s family as His very own children and became heirs of all His promises. Through faith, we received the baptism of the Holy Spirit with our heavenly language. Through faith we receive our healing, our provision and anything else that we need or desire. Jesus tells us in Mathew 17:20 b, “…If you have faith as a grain of mustard see, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove, and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”
Throughout the scriptures we see the power of faith. Hebrews 11 is the Hall of fame of faith. It talks about Noah and how he and his family were saved and preserved all that was necessary to replenish the earth because of His faith in what God had told him. It talks about the faith of Abraham and Sarah, Moses, Gideon, Samuel and so many more. Because of their faith, we are still blessed to this day. What if Noah hadn’t believed God and built the ark? His act of faith preserved not only his family, but every living, breathing land creature on earth today is descended from those that were on the ark. What if Abraham and Sarah hadn’t believed God for their son, who through his line, the Messiah was born? Mary had to use her faith to believe God to carry the savior of the world in her womb, when she was still a virgin. Our faith is the most precious gift we have, not only to us, but to the world around us.
When you realize the importance of your faith, then you will do whatever it takes to not only preserve it, but to grow it. Romans 10:7 says: “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” It is up to us to develop this precious gift we’ve been given. We can either water our faith, use our faith and allow it to grow, or we can let it remain as an unwrapped gift, or a dormant seed. Seed has great potential, but unless you water it and provide the sunlight and conditions it needs to grow, it will remain dormant. The potential will remain locked in the seed. The same is true of our faith. We must do our best to allow our faith to achieve its full potential.
Let us take this Christmas season to reignite our faith like never before. Take all hindrances and distractions out of the way and focus in on developing this precious gift from God. As we can see from the scriptures, the faith of God’s people not only saved themselves and their families, but their faith helped save the world.
Further reading: Hebrews 11, Romans 4:16-25, Mark 11, Mathew 25:14-30, Mathew 8
