An interesting word called faith

It has been my privilege to serve at Carolina College of Biblical Studies (CCBS) for the past 19 years. This year CCBS is celebrating 50 years of ministry as we recall God’s faithfulness over the past half-century. Long before I arrived at CCBS, past leaders had led CCBS well and modeled lives of faith.

Faith is an interesting word. Like all words in the English language, we use it in a variety of ways. In a sports setting we might say, “I have faith my team will win the game.” In that sense, faith is merely wishful thinking or an expressed hope that may have little connection to reality. Biblically the term faith means “to believe; to be convinced something is true,” more specifically, to believe a specific promise of God.

Faith is always rooted in an object. One might be sincere in their faith but have an untrustworthy object of their faith. Who hasn’t trusted a dishonest person, a rickety old chair, or an unreliable car? In those cases, the results were very undesirable. One of God’s central character traits is that He is faithful. He ALWAYS keeps His promises. Have you trusted His promise to give everlasting life to all who believe Jesus’ promise (John 11:25, 26)?

As you run your business or perform your work, it is commendable to seek to discover God’s promises. My experience is that I don’t tend to have faith in people I don’t know. The best way to get to know God’s promises and strengthen your faith is to regularly read the only book He ever wrote, the Bible.

It is human nature to trust in our abilities to make a project succeed, a strategic plan to be achieved, or a budget be in the black. Faith does not preclude diligent work yet it does include a firm reliance on God’s promises that pertain to the situation you are facing.

In recent months, after a long period of praying and planning, CCBS’s Board of Directors was determined to purchase property adjacent to our current campus. The purchase price was equal to more than one-third of our annual budget. We believed that God would provide as we trusted Him. In the past 90 days, more than 85 percent of the purchase price has been given to CCBS in some fantastic ways, showing God’s faithfulness once again.

If you haven’t already done so, trust God’s promise to give life everlasting and then begin trusting Him for the other promises He made too. You’ll never find Him to be unfaithful and you’ll discover joy and peace that was previously unknown.