Belief and Faith
(NOTE: The following was written for the North Carolina Fisheries Association magazine, “Tradewinds”)
You have a belief in your ability to catch fish. The accentuation here is in your ability to catch fish. It is the act of fishing in which you hold your belief.
Your faith in catching fish is a different story. Here the emphasis is not in the doing, or the act of fishing, but rather in the catch itself, the end result.
The difference between belief and faith are the same difference between cause and effect. The cause is the act of fishing. The effect is the catch.
What would happen if you had no belief in fishing? This is the cause, the act of fishing. Your belief, or rather your lack of belief in fishing may or may not have anything to do with your potential to catch fish. It would, however, eliminate any chance to catch fish if you didn’t go.
Now, what would happen if you had no faith in fishing? You could still go fishing, but you had zero confidence that the act of fishing would produce any positive results.
Belief in fishing will totally absorb and engross you in the process of fishing. Eventually, your belief will lead to frustration and befuddlement over the end results.
Faith in fishing is a different story. Absolute faith in a successful end result affects not only the process of fishing but all involved in it as well!
Faith becomes the cause which produces positive effects resulting in a successful catch. Faith becomes like the lead car during a stock car race. All of the like kind attributes (the other cars) which produce the catch just sort of draft in behind the lead car of faith and get carried across the finish line.
Nothing happens without absolute faith.
We can believe that we can fish but that doesn’t mean we will catch anything. We must have faith, absolute and total faith in producing the desired end result, the catch.
This same belief and faith apply to our relationship with God. You can believe that there is a God. That’s good, but the devils also believe, and they tremble (James 2:19).
We must have absolute faith in God. In our faith is our justification and salvation!
“Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:5a).
Our faith in God allows us to overcome the adversities of the world!
“For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:4).
Faith is a gift. It is not something of our own design and making. Jesus Christ is the “author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). By “finisher” it means that Christ makes our faith perfect.
Faith is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22). Our faith is quickened and stirred to life by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that intercedes and mingles with our own spirit (Romans 8:26).
God is looking for the faithful!
“Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me.” (Psalm 101:6)
“O Lord, are not thine eyes upon the truth?” (Jeremiah 5:3) This is what’s so fascinating about that passage in Jeremiah. The Hebrew root word, “emuwn” from which, “truth” is derived from is more often than not transliterated as, “faith”. We could re-write the passage as follows, O Lord, are not thine eyes upon the “faithful”?
It would do us all a great benefit to pause and think upon the substance and significance of the similarities between God’s truth and our faith in Him. After all, to be saved we are to put our faith in God’s truth, Jesus Christ.
“For He is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.” (Revelation 17:4b).
God looked for you. God called you. He chose you, the elect, and the faithful. You can believe in God but that won’t produce the desired effect of salvation. Residing in belief will eventually frustrate and discourage you. But you are the faithful! Faith is the “substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). It’s the box full of fish before ever leaving the dock. Faith has already arrived while belief is trying to figure out the way.
So here is what we are to do. Set aside every, “weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us”. We are to do so in complete faith.
Run to the fishing grounds in faith. Run to Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior in faith. Jesus Christ died on the cross in total faith in God and His complete ability to redeem and save, not himself, but you!
Abraham, “staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God” (Romans 4:20)
The just shall live in faith. Choose God in faith and live!
Bill Hitchcock
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