Belief, Faith & Trust
Belief is concerning the past. Something you have heard, experienced, saw or thought at one time in life. You then make a decision to believe or not to believe. Belief deals with the mind of a person. Belief begs our open mindedness. And belief depends upon the person to survive as truth for them.
Faith is concerning the present. Faith is not some blindfold that the Christian has decided to put on so that he/she can avoid the pitfalls in this life and the life hereafter. Faith is not some magic or voodoo that a person practices to keep evil at bay. Faith begs for our understanding of God and His Will for our life. Faith requires believing and a deep study or thought and sometimes even experience in wherever faith may take us. Faith is a gift from God and depends upon His involvement in our life for it’s sustenance. Faith is not so much a decision as it is a knowing. Faith finds it’s assurance in belief. I believe God created the earth because He said He did. However, I KNOW God created the earth because of all that I see in the earth. Faith is a way of life for the Christian. Faith is our depending upon Him for truth and all that is good and worthwhile in this life. Faith is of the present so therefore requires that we are in constant contact with what we have decided to believe.
Trust is concerning the future. Trust is not a carelessness or indifference. Trust does not depend on our thinking that God is sovereign, so whatever happens is meant to be. “Trust does not mean we close our eyes and move forward with blind faith. Trust looks at things as they are. It sees the dangers that threaten, and assesses them at their true value. It sees the need, and does not try to disguise it. It sees the difficulties, and does not discount them. But seeing all this, it looks beyond and sees God, its all-sufficient help. It sees him greater than the needs or the dangers or the difficulties, and it does not shrink before them.” (Charles Wesley Naylor .. Heart Talk) Therefore trust does not allow fear nor worry to have a place in our thoughts. Trust is what we allow God to teach us. When we allow Him to teach us, we become rested in Him and we become thankful and it is easy to praise Him and worship Him as our Lord and Savior. Trust begs our patience and our single mindedness. We cannot be of two minds when trusting God. We cannot think “He did say this but did He mean it for this?” We must be sure and we must make up our minds to remain committed no matter how long .. How it unsure it looks .. How difficult it seems. Trust is of the future and requires that we keep our mind and heart fixed on Him during the present (faith!).
