Faith requires trust: taking a risk on something we can’t see

We have faith that our team will win. And faith that it will rain. Even that we can pick a winning lottery number. In all those cases, faith requires taking a risk on something you can’t see. Faith requires trust. So why do we have so much trouble with trusting God?

We read and hear so many things about faith. Some of it seems impossible. For instance:

Faith is to believe what we do not see, and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe.Augustine

At best, that sounds like circular logic. How can it possibly be true?

My favorite team, whether it be hockey, football, whatever, isn’t going to win just because I have faith that they will. Sports just doesn’t work that way. Nothing works that way in life.

And of course, that’s the key. Nothing works that was in life. Faith in God isn’t entirely about this life. It is about getting beyond the end of our nose. Beyond the next five minutes. Even beyond this life. Faith requires trust in a God we can’t literally see, and for a life that won’t come until after this one ends.

Although, I have to add, kind of, sort of. There is evidence of true faith in God, even in this life. Evidence that’s a pale shadow of what’s to come. And so, while the reward begins in this life, its ultimate fulfillment is in the next life. That also means we can begin to trust God in this life, if we understand something about Him, and if we pay attention to the promises for this life that will lead us to trust in His promises for the next life.

We call ourselves risk takers, excitement seekers, and all sorts of other amazing adjectives. But when it comes to God and the greatest “reward” ever – how often are we really ready to take the risk? To have faith? And to have the trust that’s needed as a foundation for our faith?

Faith requires trust? I thought faith required believing.

So many people are familiar with John 3:16

John 3:16

^{Jn 3:16} “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Isn’t that all we need? To believe this?

Well, as I’ve written so many times before, no. It’s not “all” we need.

Not unless by “believe” we mean that we believe it so much that we change our life because of what Jesus said, did, and commanded.

Not unless our lives are transformed by our beliefs.

And that’s our belief in what Jesus and the Bible truly say, not what we hope or think they say.

It’s easy to say we believe something.

It’s orders of magnitude more difficult to live it out.

Fortunately, if we do trust God, He does help.

The problem of faith – why faith requires trust

I don’t normally pull verses out of context. But then, it’s something that happens, probably way too often. Anyway, here are two. Just taking these two with nothing else at all leads to a problem, as we’ll see.

^{Heb 11:1} Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

^{Ro 8:24} For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

Do you see what I mean? Isn’t that circular logic?

Or, is it a leap of faith that leads to the truth? Is the only way to the truth?

Or, is it always true, no matter what we think?

A quick note is on order here. Remember, the only thing we’re talking about here is faith in God. We’re not talking about the weather. Or our favorite sports team. Or anything else. If we don’t restrict the discussion to only faith in God, all sorts of things can and will go wrong. We’ll be into the “prosperity gospel”. Or a “name it and claim it” theology. Or something worse. None of those things are Biblical. So, we only talking faith in God here!

Back to reality. Think about those three options: 1) circular logic, 2) a leap of faith, 3) nothing but the truth.

Which one do you think it is?