Faith.....

What is it?

Hebrews 11:1 says (in my New Living Translation) "What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see."

I've lived most of my life as a people pleaser. (Stay with me here. I promise I'm not on a tangent.) God recently told me to read Galations. So, I've started reading Galations. Immediately, I was drawn to Paul's statement in verse 10 of chapter 1. He writes, "Obviously, I'm not trying to be a people pleaser! No, I am trying to please God." This left me invigorated, but perplexed. I've been trying to please God by doing the things I think He wants me to do. But I always feel like there's more and I can't possibly do enough....so I give up. I stop talking to Him, I stop reading His word, I stop thinking about Him.

Then my gracious God led me to these verses in chapter 2, verse 19 and the first part of verse 20. "For when I tried to keep the law, I realized I could never earn God's approval. So I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ. I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me...."

There is no earning of God's approval. The only one who could do that seemingly impossible job is Christ. He has already done it for me so that I could reap the benefit of the approval of the author and creator of the universe.

It's a concept I can't wholly wrap my mind around. But, for me, today, in this very moment, faith is knowing that because Christ paid the price from my sin, I have God's approval through no work of my own.