What is faith
Being human guarantees, we will not always have control of the outcome of a situation. When faced with these types of situations, we need faith the most. Faith is the tool we need to navigate through the dangerous waters of life.
The question is, do we know what faith is? As we are about to see, there is a big difference between how we describe faith and how the Bible describes it.
When faced with an uncertain future, it feels natural to worry while we at the same time have faith. But we will also see that what feels natural can sometimes be a sin and even destroy our faith.
Am I saying it is a sin to worry?
I am telling you the Bible says it is a sin to worry, and it is dangerous for your faith. If it is a sin to worry, then we have a choice in the matter. We can choose not to worry and not be afraid just as we can choose not to commit other sins.
What will you choose? Will you choose sin or righteousness, worry, or faith? How can you choose something you do not understand? To be able to choose correctly, you first have to know how the Bible describes faith.
Faith in the Bible
In the Bible, we do not see the word faith; instead, we see the word trust. What is the difference? Trust is something we know for sure will happen; faith is something that could happen as long as circumstances do not change. For example, we trust a chair will not break the moment we sit on it; we have faith we will be into work tomorrow if nothing unexpected happens. Trust always evolves from faith, and it can change back into faith. We believe we will be into work tomorrow, and when the next day comes, we trust we will make it in, so we act on our trust by going to work. If for some reason, the chair you sit on suddenly breaks, your trust will be shaken, and the next time you will have faith but not trust, it won’t break. Only when you have assured yourself the chair is safe will your faith evolve into trust, and you will choose to sit on it.
Trust is always active; faith is always passive. Trust is something affecting us here, and now, faith is intellectual knowledge, but faith can manifest itself as trust if we allow it to.
Faith can not save us; only trust can save us.
This is why faith that has not manifested itself as trust can not save us. If you have passive faith in the cross, but you do not trust the cross, you are not saved. But a faith that has evolved into trust, shown by our decision to repent back to Torah, is saving faith. (James 2.)
Here we see a very important and fundamental principle about trust in the Bible; trust (not faith) brings results and changes for the good or the bad in our lives. This shows us what will happen when we worry. When you worry, you have faith in a possible negative outcome, and you have chosen to evolve that faith into trust by acting as if it will happen. If you do not repent in time, what was a possible negative outcome will soon manifest in your life.
Do you now see why it is a sin to worry?
In the Bible, in Deut 28:1-13, Matt 6:25-34 says that if we obey the Torah, we will have nothing to worry about. Why? Because our obedience to the Torah gives us a new identity, we become one with Yehovah’s people, the Yehudi. In the Bible, in Deut 28:1-13, Matt 6:25-34, Ex 19, Yehovah promises always to meet the needs of the Yehudi.
If we trust what the Bible says, we will choose to live as a Yehudi, knowing our identity guarantees us Yehovahs help. This is no different when you were a child, your identity as a son or a daughter guaranteed your parents help. You did not have to do anything to get them to help you; if you needed something, they provided it because of who you are, their son or their daughter. Back then, you lived as if you had already been given what you needed, even if you did not see it right away. You knew back then your mother and father would give you what you needed because of who you were. So if you did not see it happening straight away, you knew they would still give it to you. Did you worry about it? No, instead, you anticipated with joy what was coming. You lived as if you had already been given it, even if you had not yet seen it. This is how you are supposed to live as Yehudi, knowing Yehovah will provide because of who you are. And if He does not give it right away, you will still trust Him and live as if He has already given it to you.
When we were children, most of us had no problem living as if we had already been given what we need. As adults, we might question this and say:
How do we live as if we have already been given what we need when what we see around us tries to convince us of the opposite? How do you live believing you are healed, when your body continually reminds you of how sick you are? How do you live believing you have more than enough money to pay your bills, feed your family when your bank account and bill collectors remind you how little money you have?
How did you live believing you had already received when you were a child? If you were sick, if you were in need, you told your parents what you needed. You never tried to pretend as if you had no needs. But you did not stay focused on your needs. Instead, you focused on telling them what your need was, and then your focus shifted to trust that they had already given it to you even if you did not see it yet.
This is what King David did in the book of Psalms.
In the book of Psalms, we never see King David trying to ignore facts. We never see him trying to pretend as if everything is alright when it is not. He is brutally honest in his prayers, telling Yehovah what he feels, what he needs, and his greatest fears. But then we also see him being thankful for Yehovah having heard his prayer, grateful for what Yehovah is about to do in his life even if he has not seen it yet.
This is what Paul speaks about in Phil 4:6, where he says, we are to tell Yehovah what we need and then thank Him for already providing it for us.
Does it happen right away? And if not, how do you handle the time in between prayer and answered prayer?
When you were a child, your parents did not always provide for you right away. Sometimes, they had to wait, but that did not mean they did not want to. Did you suffer from anxiety back then because you had to wait a while? No, you knew your identity as a son or daughter of your parents guaranteed their provision when it was the right time. So you did not stress or get worried; you knew it would come in due time.
Sometimes, Yehovah does not answer our prayers right away. How do we handle the time between prayer and answered prayer? By reminding ourselves of who we are because it is our identity as Yehudi who guarantees the answer. So we know He will heal us, He will provide for us. He will protect us when the time is right because we are Yehudi.
Our assurance of who we are is the one thing that makes it possible for us to wait in peace instead of worrying. Why? Because if we trust we are Yehudi, we will make an effort to live as Yehudi in obedience to the Torah, and the Torah is the key to answered prayer. If we trust we are Yehudi, we will live as if He has already given us what we asked because of who we are. And if we trust He has already given us what we ask, we will, in the end, see it manifest in our lives. (Mark 11:24)
So this is how we trust in Yehovah. Because we trust the cross, we obey the Torah. Because we obey the Torah, we trust we become Yehudi. Because we become Yehudi, we trust He will provide for us and give us what we ask of Him. Because we trust He will provide for us and give us what we ask of Him, we trust who we are even if it takes a while to manifest in our lives. Because we trust in who we are, we live as if we have already seen it manifest, and then it will manifest. (Mark 11:24)
Do you now understand why it is a sin to worry?
So how do we make a choice not to worry? We choose not to worry by doing what Joshua and Caleb did, what David did, and what Paul told us to do.
When faced with a difficult situation, trust in your identity as a Yehudi. Your identity as a Yehudi shows itself in your obedience to the Torah. Do not deny reality, pray and tell Yehovah what you need, what you feel, and what your fears are but then thank Him for having heard you because you are a Yehudi and have already given you what you asked of Him. Keep doing this until it manifests in your life. Then your trust will navigate you through the dangerous waters of life.
How do I apply this to my life?
Even though I have seen miracles in my life and answered prayer, I still struggle with worrying. I find it very tempting to give in to fear and worry at times, and it even feels natural like the most responsible thing to do. But I also know I do not want to manifest my fears, and I do not want a negative outcome of my circumstances, so I choose to say no to worrying.
Is it an easy choice to make?
No, but it is not an impossible choice to make.
When I feel tempted to worry, I have to speak to myself and remind myself I am a Yehudi. Because I am a Yehudi, Yehovah, my God has already provided/healed/delivered or whatever I need. Sometimes, I feel a spiritual resistance, and I can sense how the warfare starts to heat up around me because my enemy, the devil, does not want me to trust Yehovah.
I use different types of spiritual weapons to fight back, all depending on the warfare’s severity. Sometimes it is enough to keep reminding me I have already been healed, provided, delivered because I am a Yehudi. At other times, I have first to remind the devil that Yehovah is my God, Yehovah is one. The Bible says, in 1. John, this truth (Yehovahs oneness), scares the demons. And at other times, I choose to take refuge in the name of my God, the name of Yehovah. I prefer to focus my mind on His Name and say His Name out loud because the Bible says everyone who calls upon Yehovah’s name shall be saved, and the Yehudi run to His name, and they are safe because His name is a shield to protect the Yehudi. And then, at other times, I use a combination of all these spiritual warfare techniques.
In my experience, this works, and this is what the Bible says in Rev 12, Rev 14; if we live as Yehudi, we will overcome the devil. My experience is also that we have to choose to do this every day, no matter what comes at us. It is always the hardest to do when you are faced with the worst kind of possible negative outcome, but it is the most rewarding thing to do, and it will always change the outcome for our benefit.
Do you need prayer? Prophecy? Contact me, free of charge, on Messenger or e.mail apostleernie@outlook.com
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