Struggle & Triumph | What God Says I HaveSample

I Live By Faith

“For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed--a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’" Romans 1:17

The only true way to live is by faith. But what exactly is faith? Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see (Hebrews 11:1). In other words, faith is believing God for something before you see it. Faith is trusting God even when you don’t understand what He’s doing or why He’s doing it. Just like children don’t always understand their parents’ way of doing things, we are not always going to understand God’s way of doing things. But if our parents have our best interest at heart, wouldn’t it be fair to say our Almighty Father has our best interest at heart as well? Faith allows us to “really live” because faith has the ability to replace worry, doubt and fear...if we let it. Worry, doubt and fear are the joy-stealers of our lives.

We have two choices: 1) walk around day after day worrying about how certain situations are going to turn out, doubtful that our circumstances will ever improve, and afraid of what our future holds, or 2) live by faith, trusting God is in control of our circumstances as we move forward in life, that He will supply all our needs (Philippians 4:19) and work all things out for our good (Romans 8:28). 

So how does faith apply to sports? Take, for instance, the athlete whose season is ruined due to injury, or the coach who gets fired unexpectedly. In these scenarios, it is natural for the athlete and the coach to ask, “Why?” Faith, however, is accepting that you may never know WHY certain things happen in life. Faith is choosing to focus on who God is, on His promises and on trusting that with Him at the center of your life, you can handle anything.

Application: Memorize 2 Corinthians 5:7, “For we live by faith, not by sight.” The next time you find yourself worrying about something, repeat this verse to yourself over and over again until your worries are gone. 

Replacing your worries with God’s Word is an excellent way to begin living by faith!