A Cheatin’ Kind Of Faith

It may surprise you to learn that every person on earth has faith—even atheists! However, God’s enemies have done much to confuse humanity about WHERE to place their GREATEST faith. Most people never discover the supernatural faith God intends for us to experience; rather, they are content to live in earthly faith. 

When I use the term “earthly” I mean “related to the earth or human life on earth.” So, let’s first talk about faith in general. If you search the internet for a definition of “faith” it produces a myriad of interesting answers. For example, one of Webster’s definitions of faith is the “firm belief in something for which there is no proof.” Many Christians are characterized as having “blind faith” as if—we have lost our mind. This seems true to those who are spiritually blind. But to grasp the most basic meaning of faith…

…we must acknowledge that everyone HAS faith in something or someone. 

Generally, “faith” can be said to be:

“Confident or unquestioning belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing.”

Freedom Dictionary

So according to this definition, we ALL have faith in something or someone—even if it is only ourselves. Why do I say EVERYONE has faith? It’s simple. Each day we make decisions based upon faith because—none of us know what the future holds. In fact, we ALL exercise faith about both the FUTURE (beyond this moment) and the past (before we were born) because we haven’t experienced either. Thus, the “faith” which motivates us to act is based upon what we observe, what we are told, or what we experience. The more we act upon this faith and encounter the anticipated results, the more our faith in that object, idea, or person grows. 

Simply put, “faith” (a noun) is something we possess which motivates us to “believe” (a verb) or to take action. You could say “faith” is the intel; while “believing” is acting on the intel. Everyone who is physically alive has physical senses; and thus, everyone has earthly faith. So what’s the difference between “earthly faith” and “supernatural faith?” My friend, if you are living mostly by earthly faith…then you’re 100% being cheated. 

What’s the difference?

“Earthly faith” is based upon information gathered from our five senses and our experiences which cause us to think and take a particular course of action. We need it to survive in this world! It’s not that earthly faith in and of itself is bad. However, when we’re born again, God gives us a faith which allows us to see into the spiritual realm. So what, then, what is supernatural faith? Well, the Bible says:

“Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.”

Hebrews 11:1-3

If the source of our EARTHLY faith is information gleaned from our PHYSICAL senses, it makes sense that the source of SUPERNATURAL faith comes through our SPIRITUAL senses. But before we are born again, we are spiritually dead; so how does that work? Well, the Bible says the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16) and when we HEAR God’s Word, He gives us the gift of supernatural faith which enables us to believe beyond what our earthly senses can perceive! In other words it empowers us to know He is real and BELIEVE in Him. It’s a gift. The Bible says:

Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.‬‬

Romans 10:17

When we hear God’s Word (before we are saved), it is like receiving a pair of night vision goggles which enables us to SEE our great NEED for salvation through Jesus Christ; and thus, triggers our ability to BELIEVE in Him. It is a supernatural gift from God. But it gets even better. AFTER we receive the gift of salvation, our soul and spirit are made ALIVE. Our spiritual senses are brought to life. We are ALIVE IN CHRIST—who is omniscient and omnipresent—and we can now have the amazing mind of Christ!!!

When we are born again, our faith is no longer limited to the perceptions of our physical senses because our soul and spirit are made alive and God gives us spiritual perception! God, by His Spirit and His Word, enlightens the eyes and ears of our soul and spirit. We see people and circumstances more like He does. His presence is our most blessed and satisfying reality. We have a HUGE advantage over those who are still spiritually dead and are limited to living by earthly faith. Our spiritual senses enable us to understand the things of God that don’t make sense to those who are limited to earthly faith. The Bible explains:

“…the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

1 Corinthians 2:14

But as Christians, we need to make sure that we are not cheating ourselves by continuing to live by our earthly faith, instead of growing in our ability to exercise supernatural faith. Supernatural faith allows us to SEE that it totally makes sense for GOD to be our GREATEST source of faith instead of—the people or things He created. This gift of supernatural faith enables us to discover and live our purpose. Jesus said that even the smallest amount of faith in HIM means NOTHING will be IMPOSSIBLE for us:

“…if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” ‬‬

Matthew 17:20

Supernatural faith is a gift from God. If our faith is in anything LESS than God, we are cheating ourselves out of the myriad of blessings God has in store for us. Our omnipotent and omniscient God promises us: 

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.” ‭‭

Psalms 32:8

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”

James 1:5

My goodness, is there any rational substitute in the small human brain for—the guidance of Almighty God??? NOT if we have supernatural faith and are convinced He is wiser and more powerful than we are! To believe in God’s wisdom and power, we must KNOW Him. The closer we get to Him, the more we are awakened to spiritual reality and have a strong sense of His presence. He grows our supernatural faith and we begin to make daily decisions that are consistent with our confidence in His character.

God unequivocally trusts Himself! 

The better we know Him the more we see why and entrust every corner of our life to Him. I’ve made myself a list of questions to help me develop the habit of exercising supernatural faith in daily decisions:

Will I engage the mind of God or simply engage my own intellect? 

Will I phone a friend before I ask God? 

Do I have a strong enough sense of His presence to know God is listening? 

Will I throw money at the problem before I talk to God? 

Will I invest hours of time trying to solve a problem BEFORE I ask God to guide me?

Because we are often so rooted in earthly faith and painfully dependent upon our earthly senses—learning to exercise supernatural faith is a process. It’s not complicated. We must spend time with God and conform our way of thinking to be in line with His Word. We must love Him more than anyone or anything. Then—His righteousness, love and wisdom changes us and it becomes more and more a no brainer to live in supernatural faith. We easily see the REALITY of our desperate need for Him. He holds our breath and heartbeat; He is wise, loving, and powerful; and He longs to guide every part of our life so we may experience HIS amazing plan!

The closer we get to Almighty God, the more we see the absurdity of placing our faith in anything or anyone less than Him.

When God is our center—impossibilities become realities—because in Him, ALL things are possible!

Matthew 19:26

We would love to hear your thoughts about this devotional. Did God speak to you or challenge your daily walk with him? Or is there a topic that you would like Kimberly to cover or expound on? Please share with us in the comments below.

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