How can you have faith in God?

The Bible teaches us that, “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen� Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV). In other words, faith involves taking a step into the unknown; trusting someone without any guarantees. That’s not easy! Yet we do it every day. Every time you turn on your tap to wash your face you have faith that water will come out, not sludge or acid or milk. Why is that? Of course you have reasons – people you trust have told you so, it makes sense, and of course your own experience has taught you so. Having faith in God is similar in many ways.

We learn to trust in God for many reasons:

1. Our past experiences with Him. If you really think about your life, you’ll find that there have been many times when He saved you from something awful or gave you what you needed (but not necessarily what you wanted!). There is no reason for Him to stop looking after you now.
2. The experiences of others. When we read the stories of the saints or the Bible, or even when we talk to those who are experienced in life, we find that God cares for each one of us. the stories of others can be a great faith booster.
3. He promised us. There are many passages in the Bible where God promises us that He will care for us, such as Matthew 6:25-34; 1 Peter 5:7; Psalm 23 etc. Re-reading these verse constantly can help increase your faith.
4. He has proved His love for us. In becoming a man like us and dying on the Cross, He showed us once and for all just how much He loves us. Is it possible that God would go to such great lengths for you, then just carelessly ignore you? It doesn’t make sense!
5. He is not a frail human being. We have difficulty trusting other people because we’re afraid they might let us down, being limited humans as they are. But God knows everything and can do anything. He will never let us down because He ‘made a mistake’ or He ‘couldn’t help it’!
6. He has defeated our enemies. By dying on the Cross, our Lord Jesus defeated the devil and broke his power over us. We now have a very clear choice between two options: have faith in God and be on His side; or, don’t have faith in God and fall into the devil’s side. To me, it seems pretty clear which is the better option.
7. We trust His wisdom. Through each of the above points experience teaches us that God knows what He is doing. He knows us better than we know ourselves and loves us with a love to deep to understand. Loving Him back means trusting Him, even when it’s hard. As St Gregory says in his liturgy, He “gives us more than we ask or understand�.

Finally, to increase your faith in God you have to give Him a go. It’s a bit like learning to ride a bicycle or learning to swim. You’ll never succeed if you don’t dive in and give it a try. Sure, you take the risk of scraping your knee or getting a bit of water in your nose, but if you stick at it, you discover that it really isn’t so hard. Yes, the bicycle will balance and keep you moving. Yes, the water will hold you up and not let you sink to the bottom. And yes, God is far more dependable than any bicycle or water!

So put your life in His hands and say, “let Your will be done� – then watch the little miracles start to happen…

This Q&A was found on Archangel Michael & St Bishoy Coptic Orthodox Church : http://www.stbishoy.org.au/modules/smartfaq/faq.php?faqid=8