Do we have faith in God or the world?

Whatever we are concerned about today, faith and discernment are key components of our prayers. Without spiritual sensitivity, we do not understand God's plans, which is why seeking Him empowers and activates our communication with Him. We believe in miracles because we know that God listens and is the only one who has the authority to restore and provide for us. If someone is having a health crisis, the Bible declares that He is the Great Physician and our healer. This is an exciting truth until doubt and fear sneak through the back door, and Satan repeats the same strategy to deceive as he did with Adam and Eve in the garden. His favorite temptation is to sow seeds of uncertainty and fear in our minds, causing us to question whether faith is real or just an illusion. In our times of trouble, we are bombarded with opinions, but we must become unmovable in knowing that God's promises cannot fail.

Josh Christmas once said, "I do not believe what I see, but I see what I believe." This means that followers of God are not to place their trust in speculations or how things appear to our natural senses. Since we are filled and guided by God's Spirit, we place our spiritual confidence in Him alone. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen, which means the answers are ready to be manifested, but conditional on our knowing and believing with our hearts. For example, when a doctor says there is no hope, we must realize that a human diagnosis is not more powerful than God's final word. Doctors practice medicine, but God is the healer. Our daughter and our daughter-in-law were both told by the experts that they would never have a child. This was not true as the Lord had other plans. Today, our daughter-in-law has three amazing children, and our daughter has a beautiful baby girl. My wife and I prayed about this for years and believe that nothing is impossible with God, Luke 1:37.

When Lazarus was dead for four days, Jesus told the people to remove him from his tomb and unwrap his grave garments. His body was starting to smell, and according to natural thinking, this was disrespectful and even insane. However, they did not understand the power of God. Christ commanded Lazarus to live again, and he did! Ezekiel describes a valley of dry bones, and God asks the prophet if he believes the bones could live. He told Ezekiel to speak to the bones in faith, and the flesh came back upon them, and they were restored to life. The reason these stories are recorded is to teach us the importance of spiritual discernment when it comes to hearing God's voice and knowing His will. Christians are to live with an expectation of the supernatural and to walk in the constant awareness of God's presence as they trust and obey His instructions. My latest book about healing and miracles contains recent accounts of God miraculously intervening, as Hebrews 13:8 promises that Jesus never changes.

Many people build their worldviews on what they have been told instead of researching for themselves. Beware of listening and seeking the world's opinions more than learning to know God as true truth. Remember, what we believe becomes our reality. If we absorb what an unbelieving culture tells us, we are vulnerable to being brainwashed and conformed to negativity and doubt. Who do you suppose decides what is truth and what is censored as disinformation in our society? Satan is the father of all lies and never stops influencing chaos and confusion.

Our decision to seek God and know what He is saying, versus accepting the report of natural opinions, is the difference between thinking clearly and falling into a delusion. Every moment we are faced with the choice to absorb the light and life of God, or the deception and hopelessness of a blind and fallen world. You see, faith is not limited to only being associated with positive thinking; it can also be the driving force behind negative attitudes. If we are convinced to accept the worst, we are joining forces with dark energy that will make the problem worse. Unbelief is enmity toward God, Hebrews 3:12-13, Ephesians 4:18. We are not be conformed to the persuasions of carnality, but to be transformed by the renewing of our mind in Christ, which means we know that God is who He says He is.

Dr. Holland is an ordained minister, chaplain, and author. Read more about the Christian life at billyhollandministries.com