Faith is God-Focus

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen.

                                                                     -Hebrews 11:1 KJV      

I love the Bible! It is so simple yet so deeply profound. It contains some of the most simple and practical proverbs for direct application to our lives. Nevertheless, it also provides some of the deepest, intellectually stimulating concepts. Here is one of those more stimulating concepts. This one is not simple. It is very nebulous and ethereal, yet very real and powerful nonetheless. 

I feel the need to try to bring this concept to life. So here are a a few simplified visuals of the text. 

What's inside the egg? A baby chicken right? Or at least the makings for what can/will become a baby chicken. Faith is accepting the reality of the chicken that is to come even though all that we can see is the hard shell of an egg.  There are those who see the glass as half-empty. They argue that the egg could be rotten, the chicken could be dead. It might never hatch. Things will never work out. Nothing ever works out for me. I always get the short end of the stick. Faith simply sees a healthy baby chicken.

Here's another example that I'm sure many of you can relate to directly. 

This is a picture of my wife at the doctor's office right after a routine check-up when she was about seven months pregnant with our son. While he was still in the womb, Christopher would respond to our voices, to our songs, and even when we touched his mommy's stomach. He would kick, push, and nudge back. Faith is the kicks and pushes that serve as evidence of what I cannot actually see.

There are those who worry, but what if the baby is sick? What if we lose him? He might have a birth defect. He might be deformed. Something bad might happen in the delivery room. The donators might make a mistake. Faith simply sees a beautiful, bouncing, baby boy. 

Faith is God-focus. It is a the determination to lock in on that baby chick even though all I have right now is an egg. It is the conviction that my son will be here anyway now event though I've never actually seen his face. it is focusing on God even though all of the facts, details, proof, information, logistics, resources, and strategies are already in place.

So here's the million dollar question: Where is your focus? Is it on what you can't see, or is it on your God? Is it on your problems or your God. Is it on the need or is it on The Provider. Determine in your mind that you will focus on God and His promises rather than your problems and present circumstances.