864) I was brought up in a Christian home, and I’m very grateful for this. Because of it, there are spiritual things that I have wrestled with for many years, and what faith is, is one of them.

Many people have made the idea of faith existential; faith is what you make of it. You just close your eyes and believe. For years, I wanted so badly just to close my eyes and believe–thinking that I am showing what faith is. In reflecting on this train of thought, it’s no wonder I was so disheartened because this notion of faith often rides on how I feel. That is a problem because if I do not “feel” faith, then I must not have it.

In Matthew 9:18-33, we see that faith is more practical than a feeling. Here we have a woman who has some sort of physical illness. She illustrates what faith is. She thinks, I know Jesus can heal me. I’ll not bother him because He’s so busy. I’ll just touch a piece of his robe and I’ll be healed. The full realization of faith hasn’t happened yet. Yes, what she’s saying to herself is part of it, but here’s the important part; after she thought these things, she goes and touches Jesus’ robe. That’s faith.

Faith is taking God at his word and then acting upon it. If God says in James 1:5-6, if you lack wisdom, ask. Faith says, God will direct me and then, faith also says that you gather information about what you need wisdom with and then act because you are standing on the promise that God will direct you. Some of this “gathering” is seeking counsel, looking at options, but the important part is putting your faith into action.

Is faith as simple as this? Yes and no. Faith is putting your beliefs that are based on God’s word into action. No magic tricks, no bells and whistles, just action. It’s so simple, and yet so hard.