Just a Thought

Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.  Hebrews 11:1

When my buddy (Brent) and I first came to Spain, we were so sure that God would open every door for us immediately.  We had the faith that our dreams would be fulfilled within the first month of being in Madrid…  Little did we know that God had to form and mold us through an extreme process before we could truly begin to live.  Each one of us must go through a fiery furnace so that we may be formed and molded to His desired creation before we could begin to dine within our dreams. 

A few people came to me recently and asked; “Stelian, if you have so much faith, why won’t God give you the things that he promised you?  You claim to have faith the size of a mustard seed but we don’t see you moving mountains, or performing miracles!”  In response I said, “My Faith is in God, and in God alone.  I believe that He can move all mountains.  I believe with all my heart that his word can stop the sun in its place.  I believe that all things are possible through Him! But just because certain events in my life have not yet begun that certainly does not mean that my faith in him is too little.  It simply means that I am not ready for what will soon occur.   If God were to give me my dreams and desires now, I could surely destroy everything by falling away from God.  It took King David 22 years before he became King, not because his faith in God was too little, but because it was not yet time for him to shine.  During this molding process that we each go through (if we let God do the molding) we begin to shine more and more as the days go by until eventually we are so refined that people around us will be awed. They will stare intently at the splendor of what God has done.  I may have to wait 2, 3 or even 10 more years to become what God promised, but my faith in God will forever stand! 

Faith cannot be based off facts.  It is being sure of what we hope for and more than certain of what we do not see.   When a person has faith without seeing, their faith becomes seen. If you try to base your faith off certain facts you will get to a point in your road where you run out of faith.  A time will come where you must have faith first so that you can see.

Faith is only seen in action. I love the story that Mark writes in chapter 2 of his Gospel.   It reads; “A few days later when Jesus entered Capernaum the people heard that He had come home.  So many people gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them.  Four men came carrying a paralytic, bringing him to Jesus.  Since they could not get to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it they lowered the mat with the paralyzed man down.  When Jesus SAW their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.”

What about the event in Acts chapter 14:8, 9; ‘in Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked a day in his life.  He listened to Paul as he was speaking.  Paul looked directly at him; SAW that he had faith to be healed and called out, “stand up to your feet!” at that moment the man jumped up and began to walk.’  A mustard seed faith is always visible.  It is visible because in that moment of faith that person is completely relying on God to do the miraculous. A mustard seed faith does not fear.  It builds an ark before there is even a cloud in the sky… A mustard seed faith drenches the alter with water knowing that God will send down his fire to lick up every drop… a mustard seed faith gives their two little fish and five little loaves convinced that it will feed 10,000… It plunges into the water before thinking that God will part the water so they may cross. A mustard seed faith takes their sling and stone and faces their mighty giant confident that God will show up. It does not need man’s consent or their money. It stands firm in God and rejoices in every storm.

One of the most well known verses from the Bible is 2 Corinthians 5:7, “We live by faith and not by sight.” Faith is everything in our relationship with God. The book of Hebrews mentions that without faith you cannot please God. Faith is the structure of our core. I have faced and still am facing many days where my faith is tested… not just a little… it’s tested to the deepest of my being.  I have learned that People destroy their dreams when they allow their fears to grow bigger than their faith.  An unseen faith cannot be a mustard seed faith because a mustard seed faith is always visible.

Faith is the knowledge within the heart, beyond the reach of proof… it is intricately woven so deep within the heart that nothing, not even proof can touch it… and if you learn how to reach to the core of your heart and grab hold of that faith it will unleash the potentials that you never dreamed existed… within faith is hidden a world of possibilities.