Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him (God), for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (NKJV)
Often times we think of faith as a transaction between God and man. We pray with faith, praise and worship; then God is pleased and in turn He sends blessings full of what we wanted and requested Him. The transaction is complete awaiting the next cycle.
Whereas this is partly true, we lose a lot by just focusing on this transactional faith. Looking at the bigger picture, faith is supposed to be the lenses through which we live our everyday life. In every situation whether bad or good, whether large or small, our view and our attitude is supposed to be driven by the faith we have in God. The following are several illustrations about how we can understand faith as life-long lenses rather than just a transaction at given times.
The Shoe Sellers
A story is told of two men that were great salesmen of shoes. Even though they were competitors, they were also good friends. Having been in business for long time and dominated the market within their town, they one day decided to set sails and seek for markets in far-away lands. Upon arrival at an island, the two men are shocked that no one in is wearing shoes.
While one seller decides to return home since there is no market, the other sees a huge market. As one returns home, the other makes an order for a huge shipment of shoes to be sent. This is an example of how we can use faith as the lenses through which we view our everyday life. Both in challenges and in great times, our lenses are supposed to be permanently fixed in the belief that God is there and that He is supreme over everything in our lives.
Elijah and the Widow at Zarephath
In 1st Kings 17:8-16 we encounter a powerful story of faith in the story of Elijah and the widow at Zarephath. When Elijah meets the widow and asks for water and bread, the widow responds by saying “As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread…” This is a very powerful acknowledgement of faith in the existence of God. In addition to that, Elijah asks her to use the little flour and oil she has left to make him cake and that after doing that she will never run out of flour and oil. Whereas she was ready to use the last flour and oil to eat her last meal as they await death from hunger, she instead decides to make Elijah the cake. This is a huge demonstration of faith in the God of Elijah.
From the widow we learn to see faith as first acknowledging that God exists (As the Lord your God lives). Once we acknowledge that He exists then we seek Him and put all our hopes, dreams, challenges and happiness in Him. That will mean that faith is no longer just a transaction where we pray, praise and worship only because we want to be blessed. Faith now becomes the lenses through which we see our everyday life. We see our lives through the will of God upon us and our endeavour should be to build a relationship with Him and involve him in everything we go through both in good and in challenging times. Put on the lenses of faith, and never take them off.
