What Does Living by Faith Really Mean?

“Just have faith” is a common phrase Christians offer in times of struggle, but what are we actually conveying? How can we, as believers, not just proclaim with our mouths that we are living but faith, but rather, indwell and root ourselves to walk forward in faith? What does living by faith really mean?  

What is Faith?  

In order to live by faith, we must first understand what faith is. Our Gifts of the Spirit Study defines faith in a powerful way, “Faith is the divine strength of ability to believe in God for unseen supernatural results in every area of life. It is the special ability (given by the Spirit) to have confidence and trust in the promises of God beyond what appears possible.” Imagine placing yourself in such a posture of confidence that any idea counter to faith sounds like rubbish! We can back this up even further through Scripture, for Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as,  

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1  

Breaking down this verse in its original Greek we find a plethora of deeper meaning throughout. The word for assurance used here is, hypostasis, which means, “a setting under (support), i.e. (figuratively) concretely, essence, or abstractly, assurance (objectively or subjectively):— confidence, confident, person, substance.” (Strong’s Definition, Blue Letter Bible). A concrete confidence for that which is hoped for partners then with the conviction or, elegchos, of things unseen. Elegchos was a word commonly used in legal settings. According to commentary from Strong’s Lexicon, “In the Greco-Roman world, the concept of "elegchos" was significant in legal and rhetorical contexts, where evidence and logical argumentation were crucial for establishing truth and persuading audiences. In the Jewish tradition, reproof and correction were integral to spiritual and moral instruction, often seen as acts of love and concern for one's community.” (Strong’s Lexicon, BibleHub). When we place this all together, we encounter how the Greek reveals that faith is the concrete confidence of what is hoped for, the evidence and logical argumentation of what is not seen. Faith in itself requires trust, especially for what is not tangible in the present moment.  

Hall of Faith  

Hebrews 11 continues forward remembering those who lived by faith in their own God ordained journey. This “Hall of Faith” brings to mind the stories of those who walked with God even when it looked completely insane in the natural, for they were convicted in their own spirits that God was able to do beyond the natural, the supernatural in such circumstances. Perhaps in our own stories we should look to Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, or Samuel. Each of these people were ordinary human beings, many with pasts that were so filled with pain or sin that they seemed the most unlikely of candidates to be used by God. Yet, God invited each of them to trust Him through faith for a unique, intentional story that would reveal not only their true character and calling, but the power of God at work in and through His people. Their stories also revealed His sovereign hand over the natural world, ensuring us that He is the only true firm foundation we can have in this lifetime.  

Faith is Trust Even When It Hurts  

Living by faith is living in trust of God Almighty. In a recent episode of The Wild at Heart Podcast with John Eldredge, Josh Garrels and John Eldredge explored how living in faith exposes opportunity to live in mature friendship with the Lord. They shared,  

“Josh Garrels: And all the scripture on faith, would you say that faith is inextricably linked to friendship?” John Eldredge: “Absolutely. Because faith is not a blind step in the dark. It's not, it's not the Indiana Jones thing where you step over the abyss and, you know, faith is confidence in someone you trust. I put my trust in you, right? And so when we're hurt, it can really rattle our faith…. We get hurt, we pull away, instead of saying, no, I know you're good. I don't get it. I'm really hurt by it. And Jesus says, right, let's go there together in your heart. I want to minister. I want to minister to that in your heart. And this is the maturity of friendship, right? We're talking about maturing friendships on a human level. Well, this is maturing friendship with God. That you don't just hit the eject button.” (Wild at Heart Podcast, episode 816).   

Living by faith is maturing in your relationship with God. It means even when we have been hurt by others or the world, even when we are called to wait upon the Lord for an answer or a breakthrough, and even when it does not make sense, we make the choice to trust Him; even in the even if. There is also an incredible opportunity to come to know the Lord deeper in relationship in many forms, not solely friendship, when we live by the faith of trusting Him. This was evident in every story of the Hall of Faith. Consider how many years Abraham had to wait for the promised son, or how fearsome it must have been awaiting an act of God at the Banks of the Red Sea as Pharaoh’s armies approached? Yet, these ordinary humans stood with God. We cannot help but imagine that in their own hearts they would surmise that the greatest miracle of all was not just the splitting of seas or the falling of Jericho’s Walls, but the remarkable encounter of seeing the Creator’s character revealed firsthand. Living by faith is trusting, even when it is enormously difficult.   

Living by Faith is Knowing He Knows Best  

Ultimately, living by faith is knowing He knows best. A powerful and pivotal prayer is offering on a daily basis the surrender of all that your life holds by praying, “Our Father, Who is in Heaven, hallowed by Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.” (Matthew 6:9-13). Praying His will on earth is the surrender of how we think things should unfold, it is the surrender of controlling situations to meet our expectations, and it is the surrender of every facet of our lives, not just the easy things, to His Divine Will. This release is at times painful, for we will often cling to things with such a fierce grip. What we must instead cling to is that He knows better than we do (Isaiah 55:8-9, Proverbs 3:5-6) and that He is worthy of our trust. Living by faith is trust and surrender to the One Who we can securely have confidence in, and it is knowing that even if the situation appears completely hopeless, we are not yet at the end of the story.  

Sources:  

https://biblehub.com/greek/1650.htm 

Blue Letter Bible  

Wild at Heart Podcast Episode 816  

NASB Bible  

Gifts of the Spirit Rooted Truth Study