By Tyler King
When the prophet questioned God’s tactics in using a pagan and disturbing nation to accomplish His will (Habakkuk 1), God responded in simplicity; “have faith.” We talk often about faith and how we need to constantly “have” it as if it’s a possession. While faith can indeed be had, I would also suggest that it needs to be lived. In that same discussion, we often spend so much time in talking about what faith is that we miss what it does. Here are four quick ways that faith impacts our life, according to the Hebrew writer when recalling God and the prophet Habakkuk:
Faith Provides Direction (Heb. 10:38A) — Without faith in God, our direction in life is open-ended and inherently reckless. One who lives without faith might as well be one who sets out to sail the sea without a compass or map. Faith provides a true North, it gives us vision in which we proceed by.
Faith Promotes Confidence (Heb. 10:38B) — The next point in Hebrews 10:38 is an emphasis on one’s conduct as he lives by faith. God does not delight in the believer who “shrinks back.” When push comes to shove, faith and righteousness allows us to be firmly rooted (Ps. 1:3), holding on to God’s promise and having faith in the hope he provides (Heb. 6:19). Faith is not a fleeting feeling, rather, it is a determined disposition toward God Almighty.
Faith Protects the Soul (Heb. 10:39) — The scripture states, “we are of those who have faith and preserve their souls.” Doubt and uncertainty in God leads one to destruction. Whereas faith exhorts one to eternal life. By having faith we see through the woes of life and fix our gaze on the eternal realm to which there is no futility.
Faith Promotes Action (Heb. 11) — Immediately following this incredible exposition of Habakkuk 2, the penman of Hebrews considers numerous examples of faith. Men and women who championed this characteristic in who they were. Faith was not just part of their life, it was how they lived their life. Faith is not a “here one day gone the next.” It is a continual decision to allow God to work wonders in our life for the betterment of eternity.