“Let it Make Faith”

In her song, “Make Faith”, Christian music artist Olivia Lane sings, “But I've got so many questions and I'm fighting through my doubts. So Jesus, if it can't make sense right now

let it make faith”. The circumstances of this world, our struggles to live day by day, may cause us to be in doubt or challenge us to exercise faith and patience. There is a foundation of understanding that only the Holy Spirit provides by the Word of God, and that creates a solid foundation of hope when we don’t understand. It can make us immovable, even in the face of pressure that tempts us. We can choose to look to Jesus during these times and magnify Him when we don’t understand, or we can magnify the problem by being mindful of it. Whatever we magnify will grow larger in our mind, and depending on what we meditate upon, our emotions will line up with our thoughts.   Either way, we will meditate and magnify something. What will your choice be?

By the Word, we are instructed to avoid being distracted away from Jesus (Hebrews 12:2), but instead to see by faith. This means, based on the Word of God, we maintain a position of hope by focusing our attention on Jesus through the Word. We allow it to form a picture in our minds and speak life from our mouths.

The woman with the issue of blood saw her healing before she experienced it. She heard about Jesus. She meditated upon what she heard, and she kept saying what she believed and perceived to be true. The woman’s hope caused her to risk her life to receive a blessing. (Mark 5:25-29)

David was faced with exhaustion, and what seemed to be the final straw after years of pursuit by the enemy. Yet, at this most vulnerable moment, he encouraged himself in the Lord. He allowed hope to permeate his mind, influencing his emotions and strengthening him for the next steps that resulted in victory (1 Samuel 30:6).

Abraham saw by hope, according to the promises of God. He had reminders every night, the millions of stars that filled the sky. He had reminders every day, by the millions of sand grains on the seashore. This was the number of descendants Abraham was promised. He encouraged himself in the Lord by looking at these things, and he praised God for that which he hoped for, keeping his attention on the promise of God. (Genesis 22:17)

Hope is not dependent on what we see. If we could see it, there would be no need for hope. But we hope based on what can’t be seen. We hope because God said it! We hope because we believe what He said. We hope by faith, believing we have the measure of faith (Romans 12:3); we have the same faith as the disciples had (2 Peter 1:1); by your belief in Jesus Christ, you have obtained this gift of His faith by grace!

We meditate on the things that promote hope. “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3; Philippians 4:8). Our lives will go in the direction of these dominant thoughts. But we must be fully persuaded that God’s Word is true, powerful, and that He is not a liar. When He commands by His Word, that means we are capable of doing what He said. The foundation of this hope is knowing the unconditional love of God for each of us. Love that was poured out on the cross for sinners! Revelation of this kind of love helps us to stand in hope, mediating on the Lord, even when everything around us seems to be falling apart. It restores us to peace as our confidence and expectation in Him soars because we are focused on Him!