BY FAITH WE UNDERSTAND

There are times in life when things simply do not add up. Logic and reasoning, either by ourselves or anyone else completely fails to comfort us, or to make head or tail of what we are going through. Rationalising everything also doesn't help, neither do the sometimes strange and humanistic reasonings or solutions that well-meaning Christians try to offer us. Neither for that matter does a worldly view of things which even though may sound pleasant, is either shallow, unfruitful or plain immoral. It is these times that the words of Hebrews, taken in their intended form, provide the most comfort for those that are downcast, sad and confused: 'By faith we understand...' The world will tell you that by logic, sense and experience we will rightly understand the world and our lives, but the Word says the opposite.

The Word encourages us as Christians to understand not only the history of the earth and its creation by faith, but our own lives (Heb 11). When we live our lives in this manner, we'll see the fruit of it too, which will confirm the value and strength (and existence) of the faith that has been given to us as a gift. Yes, we as humans doubt, fail and still sin in this regard, not believing as we should, as the flesh and the world still screams at us to doubt and to leave the Lord for what it offers, but ultimately the gift Jesus has given us is not based on any strength we possess, and His Holy Spirit never runs out of power that is needed to believe. He and the gift of faith remains in us even in our weakest of times, and supports us and offers support to us. It is not by anything in us that we must understand our lives and our trials other than by faith.

We have a great encouragement of lives lived in faith in the Word, the fruit of that faith and the sure hope and promise of the Kingdom and final fruit of redemption to come because of that gift of faith. It is hard to believe and it is a fight, one that is beyond all of us, but we don't need to despair, Christ was found worthy and so chose to impart to us what we couldn't to ourselves. By faith we understand everything that is going on in our lives, and every trial and every experience. Lord, we believe, help our unbelief! (Mark 9v29)