Faith Starts And Ends With God

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. (Hebrews 11:1-3)

Moses began the testimony of God’s revelation to man acknowledging that everything in the world, about the world, and the future of the world, began with God. It is not incidental the Bible starts with “In the beginning, God.” That is the fundamental fact that if a man will not and cannot acknowledge, he has nothing to hope for. There is nothing left if God is denied. The problem that man has faced is that no one has seen God. Adam and Eve talked with God as He walked in the cool of the day but the visage of the Lord God was not visible. Noah heard the instructions of the Lord to build an ark, Abraham heeded the  voice of God telling him to leave his country, and Moses was allowed to peek at a glimpse of the glory of God. The only man who saw God face to face was the Son of God, Jesus Christ.

Faith is the evidence of believing in God when no man has seen nor can see God. It goes against the nature of man to put his full trust in something that is not tangible. Human wisdom reacts best to the five basic senses of identification: sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch. None of these can be experienced with God. Because of this, many refuse to acknowledge God and deny His existence. Faith is the foundation of belief in something that cannot be seen, heard, taste, smell, and touched; and that is hard for man to grasp. The Bible is accepted on faith because no one living experienced its history. Three thousand years has not diminished the power of the word of God. The universe was spoken into existence because God said it did. Moses did not witness creation and his writings came many generations after the event.

Belief is measured by the amount of faith a person is willing to allow into his heart to accept what has not been seen. Faith begins with God because He is the cause of all things. When the sun rises in the morning, does man take notice and does he accept by faith the sun will rise? Science can predict exactly when sunrise and sunset occur in any part of the world because of faith in a process that is as old as the earth. If a man knows when the sun rises, why is he troubled to believe in the One who made the sun? Everything about the world is the handiwork of God which demands belief based on faith. The dominoes of unbelief will destroy the hope that is found in believing in the one true God. Faith creates hope as the knowledge of God grows in the heart. Trust comes from hope risen from the fragrance of faith. The essence of faith finds its power in the hope God instills in man and the promise that what is not seen, can be seen by the eye of faith.

Everything starts and ends with God because He is before time. God spoke the world into existence. What can man do that equals the marvel of creation? Without faith, it is impossible for a man to please God because that is where the relationship of God and humanity begins. Denying Genesis 1:1 denies everything else about God. Faith shows the reality of what is hoped for and the proof of what cannot be seen. That is how a man must come to God. Faith is the first step in the journey to discover God. He is first and He is last. Begin with God and the ending of the story will be glorious.