Trusting God in the Realm of the Impossible

Today so much is said in the name of faith that in popular culture and as far as the world is concerned, to have faith has taken on a certain stigma of sentimentality. Today, faith is sort of the weak man’s crutch, sort of like a safety blanket or a good luck charm like a rabbits foot that people rub when they need some emotional support. But biblical faith has nothing to do with either luck or sentimentality. Furthermore, faith is not a person, and not divine. Some people speak of faith as if faith itself were the deity they worship. But Paul puts this all to rest when he points out that faith is a gift, “For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake” (Phil. 1.29; cf. Eph. 2.8-9; Acts 11.18; 13.48; 18.27). Faith is actually a grace (Eph. 1.3). It is the by-product of salvation and as such it is something imparted to us from the sovereign hand of God and furthermore, it is something we can either increase in or decrease in. In other words, faith can fluctuate in one’s personal ongoing sanctification. The apostles asked Jesus directly, Lord, “increase our faith” (Lk. 17.5). That is what is really happening in this chapter, we see not only the triumphs of faith, but how faith grew, increased, and how it deepened in the lives of God’s people as they trusted in God the ultimate object of faith and His redemptive promises.