The Anatomy of Faith
Good day, friends! Today, we are blessed to have our devotional brought to you by Dr. Bishop William Downing of Open Door Outreach Ministries. His stirring doctoral dissertation was presented today during service and helped to conceptualize how faith works if we use it according to God’s teaching. Please enjoy and leave a comment for our special guest! The following passages are in his own words, used with his permission, with additions in red print.
Without faith, it is impossible to please God - Hebrews 11:6 (Image: Unspalsh)
We who have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as our savior need to believe every word of God. We need to have faith the size of a mustard seed, the smallest seed there is.
We must walk in Faith, no matter what trouble we are facing. When we give ourselves to Christ, we do so in faith. But we do not always have enough faith. Then, we become like the children of Israel who had no faith.
Deuteronomy 32:20 says, “And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith.”
The people of today are still doing this because they have no faith. The people today turn themselves to other gods for truly they do not trust God or his word. For they want things, and when they feel that God has not answered them, they look somewhere else.
How do we get faith the size of a mustard seed? I’m glad that you asked. We get it by reading the word of God and believing every word to be true. God tells us in his word why we should not be of “little faith.”
Matthew 6:30 shows us how God works. “If God so clothes the grass of the field, shall he not clothe you, for we are his own.” Matthew 8:10 shows us how a centurion came to Jesus, saying, “My servant lieth at home sick.”
You must understand that this man was NOT a believer, but he had heard of the work Jesus was doing and had faith that Jesus would heal his servant. His faith was so strong that he said to Jesus, “Just speak, and I know my servant will be healed.”
We can also pair this scripture with John 20:28-29, where Jesus taught Peter the definition of faith by separating faith that is seen (the physical) from the unseen (spiritual). “You believe because you have seen. Blessed are those who have not seen, YET believe.”
It is so easy to believe in the things that we can see because we can touch and, in some way, control them. The spiritual world is unseen and cannot be controlled by human hands.
But if we can trust God’s ability to actualize our healing and redemption through the spirit, this belief can change things in our physical world.
We as Christians must understand that in our daily walk with Christ, we are going to have storms in our lives. We must remember that we are not the first to have storms in our lives. The disciples also had a storm, and they walked with Christ.
But the same God that rebuked the storm for them is the same God today and will rebuke the storm in our lives.
God is asking us, “Why are we fearful?” How is it that you have no faith?
Fear thou not, for I am with you - Isaiah 41:10 (Image: Unsplash)
I know there are times when you feel you are not worthy of calling on God. But my friends, that is what the devil wants you to think. When you feel like that, remember to ask God to increase your faith and give you faith the size of a mustard seed.
What is faith?
Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the substance (assurance) of things hoped for, the evidence (conviction) of things not seen.” In Psalm 46:10, we find the words, “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nation, and I will be exalted in the Earth.”
In John 8:24, God says, “Unless you believe that I am who I claim to be, you will die in your sins.” So, if you are a believer, you must trust God and believe in every word of God.
Through Christ, we believe in God, who raised Christ from the dead and glorified him. So our faith and hope are in God. 2 Corinthians 5:7 tells us, “We walk by life by faith and not by sight.” Far too many are trying to have faith by sight.
How to Strengthen Your Faith:
Trust in the word of God. To do this, we must read God’s word and understand that God keeps his promises.
By reading God’s word, we find hope, peace, and joy, which will strengthen us.
Keep your faith at all times.
When you struggle, lay your problems before God.
Love God and others without judgment. In Mark 11:22-24 Jesus tells us to have faith in God and not to doubt in our hearts, but to believe that what he says will come to pass. It will be done for you.
In this case, faith is defined as a component of knowledge and a reason for belief and trust.
When we are sick, we need even more faith and belief that God will heal us. We pray and ask God to comfort us and skill our doctors' hands. Not to lean on the doctor for our healing but on God to heal through our Savior Jesus Christ.
When we have hard times, the word of God says in Nehemiah 8:10, “Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Isaiah 41:10 tells us not to fear, “for God is with us.”
The Bible contains many verses that can help us. In Psalm 27, we read, “The Lord is my light and salvation; whom shall I fear?” We must trust in his mercy so that our hearts will rejoice in his salvation.
How to make faith work in your life:
Pray throughout the day
Read God’s word (the Bible)
Listen to positive and encouraging people
Get involved in the church
Give yourself some alone time with God
God uses people who are not afraid to trust him completely. And when we do, we have power. But we must allow God to direct our lives, for what a blessing we will have.
Dr. Bishop William Downing is the senior bishop of Open Door Outreach Ministries, which began in Philadelphia, Pa., and now operates in Edenton, NC. Dr. Downing received his ordination from The Word of Truth Bible Academy in Randallstown, MD, in 2020.
Dr. Downing has spent over 50 years in ministry with various organizations before starting his own. He is married and has three daughters, the youngest of whom is the founder of this website.
