Proverbs‬ ‭24‬:‭10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ says “If you faint in the day of adversity, Your strength is small.”

‘Strength’ here is not about our physical strength but about our inner strength. And our inner strength is dependent on our level of faith. So how can we grow our faith so that we don’t buckle under pressure?

Matthew‬ ‭8‬:‭10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!”

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How could the Centurion in Matthew‬ ‭8‬:‭5‬-‭13‬ ‭and the Canaanite woman in Matthew‬ ‭15‬:‭21‬-‭28‬ who didn’t have any close contact with Jesus have such great faith, meanwhile, Peter and the other disciples who spent all their time with Jesus had little faith?

Matthew‬ ‭14‬:‭31‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?””

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How can we know if our faith is little?

Faith is an action word. James‬ ‭2‬:‭14‬ ‭NLT‬‬ says “What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone?”

If we say we have Faith in God, it must be demonstrated by our actions and in the way we live our lives everyday.

Romans‬ ‭10‬:‭17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ says “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” There is absolutely no way we can have Faith without the Word of God because it is the Word that reveals God to us. The more knowledge of the Word we have, the more knowledge of God we have, and our knowledge of God affects the level of our faith toward God. How do you think Abraham was able to have the faith to receive the promise?

Hebrews‬ ‭12‬:‭2‬ ‭NIV‬ says “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith..”

What we focus on will determine whether we walk by faith or by sight. A typical example is the experience of Peter in Matthew‬ ‭14‬:‭23‬-‭31‬‬.

Luke‬ ‭5‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.””

On the surface, asking anyone to “walk by faith, not by sight” sounds quite unintelligent. It sounds like a blind leap in the dark, but is it really?

Hebrews‬ ‭6‬:‭13‬-‭15‬ ‭NLT‬

“For example, there was God’s promise to Abraham. Since there was no one greater to swear by, God took an oath in his own name, saying: “I will certainly bless you, and I will multiply your descendants beyond number.” Then Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised.”

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To walk in faith, we need to understand the basis of our faith. So what should our faith be based on as God’s children?

2 Corinthians 5:7 says “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”

This bible verse depicts two lifestyles: the lifestyle of ‘Faith’ and the lifestyle of ‘Sight’. “Walking by sight" means living our lives based solely on what we can see and understand with our physical senses and the Bible clearly warns us not to live our lives walking by sight. Why?

Hebrews‬ ‭10‬:‭38‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.””

People erroneously think that ‘to believe’ and to ‘have faith’ are the same thing ‭‭‬and people even use them interchangeably, but they don’t mean the same thing. The bible says ‘the just shall live by faith’ and not the ‘just shall live by believing’. So what’s the difference and why is this so important to us as Christians?