“Faith is not the belief that God will do what you want.
Faith is the belief that God will do what is right.”
Max Lucado.

God has constituted man such that he is a creature that lives by faith, faith in something. Little does unreflecting man realize how the principle of living by faith is necessary for his very existence. Little children learn to have faith in the use of their muscles; otherwise, they would not dare to trust themselves to stand upon their feet at all let alone to walk. No sane person will eat their food; take a drink except by faith. We have faith in the provider of the food, the preparer, and the server that we are not being poisoned. Without faith, we would not dare lie down to sleep. We must have confidence in our companions that they will not harm us while we are sleeping. Without faith, there could be no peace of mind; there would be nothing but anxiety, isolation, and intense distrust. No one could live in this state because the fears issuing from the absence of faith would wear out one’s mental and physical systems. Man either lives by faith or dies by fear.

Hebrews 11:1 gives us the well-known biblical “definition” of faith as; “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” The Open Bible comments on this verse: “The faith by which the righteous live (10:38) is certain that things hoped for, God’s promised blessings, will be fulfilled. It is also confident of things not seen, God’s power and faithfulness in life today. For OT saints, Christ’s sacrifice and entrance into heaven were only things hoped for. For us, they are a blessed present reality, although not seen. Both they and we grasp them by faith.” Concerning Hebrews 11:1, Warren Wiersbe states the following:

“True biblical faith is not an emotional kind of wishful thinking; it is an inner conviction based on the Word of God (Rom. 10:17). In v. 1 the word substance means “assurance” and evidence means “proof.” So, when the Holy Spirit gives us faith through the Word, the very presence of that faith in our hearts is all the assurance and evidence we need! Dr. J. Oswald Sanders says, “Faith enables the believing soul to treat the future as present and the invisible as seen.” Through faith, we can see what others cannot see (note vv. 1, 3, 7, 13, and 27). When there is true faith in the heart, God bears witness to that heart by His Spirit (note vv. 2, 4–5, and 39).”

It’s reported that an old saint described faith in God is simply “throwing your whole weight on Him”. This is not that kind of faith that is peddled by the “Word-Faith” proponents who serve up a faith that is a faith based on semantics, namely have “faith in faith”. They present a brand of mysticism that would shame any credible magician, namely “name it and claim it”. They grossly misrepresent God’s Word by claiming that one with enough “faith in faith” can “speak things into existence” by “…calleth those things which be not as though they were” (Rom. 4:17). Properly explained this verse makes reference to God, who is the only one who can speak things into existence by His creative power.

The most essential principle of faith does not reside in the “strength” of one’s faith. The faith that fails is the faith that rest on an impotent object. Effective faith rests upon an object that is able to confirm one’s trust.

Failing Faith versus Effective Faith

The object of effective faith is clearly illustrated in 1 Kings 18:22-38 in the encounter between Elijah and the 450 Prophets of Baal. The prophets of Baal, throughout their portion of the trial, exhibited great faith in an impotent object. That object being the false god Baal. Elijah, while making the task more difficult, demonstrated his faith in the One who was able and did, in fact, complete the task set before Him. The Believer’s Bible Commentary gives the following account of this encounter:

“Addressing the assembled representatives of Israel, Elijah accused them of wavering between two opinions; they should choose either the LORD or Baal. Then the contest began. Two bulls were to be killed and laid on kindling wood. Elijah would represent the LORD whereas four hundred and fifty of Ahab’s prophets would represent Baal. The God who answered by fire would be acknowledged as the true God.

The prophets of Baal cried out to their god and hopped around the altar from morning … till noon. Elijah mocked them with “helpful” excuses for Baal’s failure to answer. ‘Perhaps he was such a small, weak god that he could not do two things at once.’ In desperation, they … cut themselves (as was their custom) with knives and lances and raved on until the time … of the evening sacrifice. But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention.

Then Elijah … built an altar of twelve stones in the name of the LORD, representing the twelve tribes of Israel. Then, to eliminate any possibility that the altar might be ignited in any way other than by a miracle, he saturated the oxen and the wood with twelve barrels of water (four waterpots emptied three times)…

At the time of … the evening sacrifice … Elijah prayed that God would reveal himself by sending fire from heaven. Immediately the fire of the LORD fell from heaven, consuming not only the sacrifice but also the wood and the stones and the dust, and … the water … in the trench around the altar. The people were thus compelled to acknowledge the LORD as the real God.”

The example of Elijah’s victory over the priests of Baal clearly illustrates the principle that one must carefully consider the object of one’s faith and the evidence that supports that object.