“Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.” Hebrews 11:1
The idea that I would use math as an illustration is almost laughable, however it fits very well with this writing. In math, when given word problems to solve, one must be careful to read each word. As I learned in my last math class, a word as tiny as the word “is” can make the difference between solving a math problem correctly or not. My professors taught me when I see the word “is” in a word problem, it stands for the equals sign. Whatever comes on the left side of the word is must equal whatever comes on the right side of the word is.
In our Scripture passage leading into this writing, the word faith comes right before the word “is,” meaning what follows equals faith. So, let’s take a look at what follows: “Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.” (Emphasis mine.)
Faith is a word that is hard to define, especially to someone who is not a believing Christian. Faith is not tangible in a way that proves beyond a doubt that something exists. For example, when the wind blows, we can’t see it with our eyes, but we can feel it on our skin. If we couldn’t feel it, then we might argue that it isn’t real. I have found that in my relationship with Jesus, faith in what he is doing in my life and around my life is very personal. Like a person who feels the wind, and knows that it’s real, when God works in my life in such a personal way, I believe it to be true. Others may argue with my perception, but this is what faith is called.
In our lives, we must each face God’s call with faith. Never doubt, or believe that anything is beyond the power of God to work out in your life. He loves when we cannot see and yet believe and trust in his mighty work. I pray that each of us will call upon the Holy Spirit to grow us daily in our faith.