Faith — The success imperative

Inherently, man (including the woman, of course) was endowed with the ability to do exploits and accomplish the incredible...Faith was designed to be the empowering agent.

The topic of faith is certainly not restricted to ecclesiastical circles. To a large extent, the subject is universal, finding major interest in just about every sphere of life. Some years ago, it seemed that in most cases, when the word “faith” was mentioned, there was only a religious connotation. Not so anymore. In the secular classroom, the sports and entertainment arenas, the corporate world, and even the realm of science and medicine, faith is now no stranger. Several motivational speakers now tend to prefer the term. “faith” over “confidence,” depending on the context. Apart from faith, there are many other scriptural items that the secular and scientific mind has eventually come around to accept as imperatives to the success of human endeavours and existence. As the Holy Bible indicates from the very beginning, faith was an integral factor in the Creator’s plan for man. Man’s relationship with his God and the appropriating of the Maker’s purpose for his life, depended upon the vital element of faith.

Faith was originally designed and intended to be a supernatural force. It was made available to man so as to provide a magnitude of empowerment which would allow him to access significant measures of the actual creative ability of God himself. In fact, potentially, man possesses the very nature of God. Man was “created in the image and likeness of God” (Gen 1:26). So inherently, man (including the woman, of course) was endowed with the ability to do exploits and accomplish the incredible. Faith was designed to be the empowering agent. The prophet Daniel said, “The people who know their God, shall be strong and shall do exploits” (Dan 11:32). When man fell as a result of sin in the Garden of Eden, his capacity to exercise faith was drastically affected. Man had lost his essential contact with his true source of faith — his God. As a result, he (man) became only a mere shadow of himself, as far as his faith was concerned. But the Lord did provide a redemptive plan, via Christ in the New Testament era, so that the status of genuine faith could be restored. Mankind can therefore once again come into that intimate relationship where he can “Know God and do exploits” including the miraculous.

The great Apostle Paul, who has startled all of humanity with his mind-boggling exploits as the greatest apostle that ever lived, declared: “..the life that I now live, I live by faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Gal 2:20). Paul was a noted intellectual of his day. However, when he was converted to Christianity (which he had previously hated with a passion) he became a “faith fanatic.” He went on to declare that in comparison to his faith life in Jesus, the philosophies by which he formerly lived “were all dung.” Paul also made the major declaration: “The just shall live by faith” (Rom 1:17). He saw faith as the very bedrock of live and living. Faith and life are therefore synonymous. Primarily in this context, faith is the essence of life. The better we understand and employ faith, the more fulfilling life would be. The key ingredient necessary for fulfilling life’s purpose is faith. “Faith is the victory that overcomes the world” (1 Jn 5:4). The challenges encountered by man in his lifetime on this earth are usually formidable and frightening. Generally, there is more frustration than elation, more pain than peace, more discouragement than encouragement, more failures than success, more defeat than victory. But with a life of focused faith, one can surely experience “the victory that overcomes the world.” Fear is the direct enemy of faith. Fear is essentially a spirit (2 Tim 1:7). This spirit creates a negative state of mind. If faith is not used to effectively counteract fear, then “the thing that you fear will come upon you” (Job 3:25). Faith or fear determines the quality of thoughts which dominates our hearts/minds.

This in turn determines the quality of our lives. “As a man thinketh in his heart so is he” (Pro 23:7). “Out of the heart are the issues of life” (Pro 4:23). Romans 10:17 informs us that subsequent to a redeemed life in Christ, one must maintain a life soaked in, and committed to, the principles of the Word of God, in order for a life of faith to flourish. The verse instructs that “faith cometh by hearing the Word of God.” While from a particular viewpoint, we may speak about faith in the superlative, the Bible does say “the greatest is love.” 1 Cor 13:13 states, “Now abideth faith, hope and love, these three, but the greatest of these is love.” Paul writes in 1 Cor 13:2 “Though I have faith to move mountain, and have not love, I am nothing.” To the Galatians, he also proclaimed, “Faith works by love” (Chap 5:6). Love therefore is the fuel that works faith. It follows that the believer who must live an effective faith life, has to live an effective life of love. Recently a noted US researcher found that the average American, who is known to lead a life of strong faith in God, lives at least seven years longer than those who do not. For African American, it’s fourteen years. This might be the greatest motivation for living by faith!