Faith and Evidence — Hebrews 11:1

We've said lots of wonderful things about faith in the past few days. At this point, you might have started relating the teachings to why you probably trusted God for certain things in the past which never came to pass. As we've seen, several times in the past, you might have actually had hope while thinking you had faith.

Faith involves acting out the result of your hope. So, God is only moved when we physically act out the result of our expectations from Him. The bible clearly tells us that only faith gives God pleasure.

Look at the scripture below: Hebrews 10:38 (38) Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. Hebrews 11:6 (6) 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. If God can only be pleased by faith, then, God is moved by our expressions.

The expressions of an individual determine whether God will find pleasure in Him. God pays a great attention to the actions of our body than to the thoughts of our hearts. For instance, on several occasions in the bible, God warned some individuals not to act out their heart contents as the action was going to become the actual sin.

Take a look at an example below: Genesis 4:3-12 (3) And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. (4) And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: (5) But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. (6) And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? (7) If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door.

And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. (8) And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. (9) And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? (10) And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. (11) And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; (12) When thou tillest the ground, it shall not from this moment onward yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. Notice from the above that when Cain felt jealous of Abel, God warned him by saying, ".sin lieth at the door.".

This shows that God saw the jealousy as the beginning of Cain's sin but counselled him against allowing it to become a full blown transgression. Every action begins as a thought or conviction, and all actions would need courage in other to be executed. God understands that whatever you find courage to do, you automatically begin to express.

This is why He never takes a believer serious until his/her day to day actions begin to highlight his/her convictions. If you believe in God's promises for your life, then your interactions, communication, and relationship with people must reflect it. Until this happens, what you have before God is hope and not faith.

Hope never moves God, but faith does. If you want God to be moved concerning your case, then start acting like His promise has been fulfilled. However I must warn that you should be sure of His promise before taking steps of faith.

The power of God in our midst is great and is more than enough for all of us. You must agree with and to what God is saying in our midst, act out the confessions handed down daily by the Holy Spirit, and then you will always see the power of God in Jesus' mighty name!