Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
There is nothing free or easy in life because everything has a price on it. Salvation is free for the lost soul, but Christ had to pay the price so that He could offer it freely to whosoever would accept His payment.
Just as salvation has a price that had to be paid, so living by faith has a cost that every believer must pay if they want to enjoy the benefits of faith. One must ask themselves if they truly want to live by faith and enjoy its benefits, but in my experience, the benefits of living by faith far outweigh the cost of faith. When I look at faith, I find five things it will cost the believer.
First, faith takes total sacrifice. You cannot live by faith without sacrificing your dreams and life. God told Abraham to leave his homeland to go to a place where He would make of him a great nation. When Abraham stepped out by faith, he did not know where he was going or the direction he would take; he simply trusted God’s guidance by faith. If you are not willing to sacrifice the known for the unknown, you will never find yourself living by faith. Faith asks you to step out on the unknown to trust a God who knows where He is taking you. You will never live by faith until you are ready to step out on the unknown of faith’s call.
Second, faith takes total trust. Faith is taking the control of your life out of your hands and placing the control in God’s hand. This does not sound like a big cost, but it is because we are often prone to want to control our own lives. You will never know what faith living will do for you until you commit total trust of your life to God.
Third, faith forces you to face impossible circumstances. If what you are doing is not impossible, then what you are doing is not faith. Faith goes beyond your abilities to trust God to step in when you face the impossible. If you don't have the stomach to face the impossible, you will likely never live a life of faith. Faith always asks you to do the impossible, which means you are stepping out on something that is beyond your control. Faith living has the mindset that you will either make it by faith or die trying to accomplish faith’s vision.
Fourth, faith will cost your friends. Loneliness is often the companion of faith because most will not step out with you when you choose to live by faith. However, leaving man's companionship to live by faith will give you companionship with God, which is far better than companionship with man. You must ask yourself if a close friendship with God is better than a friendship with man when you are faced with living by faith. I have always found that friendship with God is always far better than man’s companionship.
Now, the cost of faith is not a great cost when the result of faith brings God’s power doing the miraculous through your life. You will never know God’s power in your life until you are ready to pay the cost of faith. Are you willing to pay the cost? Do you want to see the miraculous in your life? As long as you continue to plan your life out, you will never know what faith will produce in your life. Hand over the controls of your life to God, trust Him by faith, and the cost of faith living will seem like nothing as you enjoy God’s hand working the miraculous through your life.
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