Hebrews 11 makes it clear that a Christian is a person marked by faith. Faith is exercised as we begin to follow of Jesus and it is exercised as we live our life trusting God and walking in His ways.
This is such a basic fact of Christianity, but I find it surprisingly easy to forget. In my often-unbiblical thinking or living, I assume that life should turn out a certain way and obedience to Christ should result in ease and pleasantness and visible success. But the biblical testimony is filled with people who follow Christ and their life becomes harder, not easier. Of course, it becomes easier in one sense: it is easier in the sense that all we have a relationship with God who is our rock and support and comfort and joy. But it becomes harder as well: now we have to trust in God and God’s ways, even when the world thinks we are foolish and even when the circumstances would be easier if we did not have to worry about walking by faith.
All of a Christian’s life is one of walking by faith. We trust that Jesus died for our sins when we become a Christian, and we keep on trusting in this even after we sin again and again and live out our years awaiting his victorious return. We trust that Jesus has secured eternal life for us, and we keep trusting as we see friends and family die and as consider our own eventual death. We trust that God is wise, even when the world considers the wisdom of the Bible to be foolish or outdated. We trust God is kind, even when He sovereignly allows painful or difficult circumstances our way. We trust that God has graciously forgiven us and brought into the family of God, even the devil condemns us or we condemn ourselves (“there is NO condemnation for those who are in Christ” Rom 8:1). In this, we see that all of a Christian’s is lived out by faith.
This faith is not only expressed in the seemingly impossible things we hope to see (Matt 17:20), but it is also lived out in our daily experiences. Each and every day in the regular tasks before us, we walk by faith and trust that God is at work and that His ways are wise and good. We trust as we teach our children the Scriptures, even when we don’t see the impact. We trust as we keep reading the Bible daily and praying, even as we keep struggling with sin and temptation. We keep on walking by faith, even when it seems that God is silent or not active. We know that He is with us and He is worthy to be trusted.
