Faith…staking my life on the promises of God; trusting in His goodness. I can’t please God with a wishy-washy faith, only trusting Him when blessings are raining down. I do please God when I praise Him for my blessings and also hold to Him in the storms of life, trusting that there’s a purpose in my suffering. I know this: I’m never left to face a trial alone. Faith begins when we believe God exists. Not an intellectual belief—“Yes, there’s a God.” After all, even demons believe, but they certainly have no relationship with Him! This belief leads us to receive Jesus as Savior and then make Him the Lord of our lives. When we have that faith, we are rewarded. But not necessarily in material blessings (which are all temporal). We’re rewarded with the indwelling of His very own Spirit upon confession of faith. We’re rewarded with the promise of heaven when our physical body dies. We’re rewarded by having a Friend who sticks closer than a brother as we traverse life’s pathways. Jeremiah 29:13 assures us, “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” When we sincerely seek, we find the compassionate Father who guides us every step of life’s way. A relationship with Him is the greatest reward I can imagine.
