“Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6).
Faith is vastly different from presumption.
Faith has its reasons for believing a thing, doing something, going someplace. Presumption is blind faith, and believes/does/goes without having been told or sent.
“The just shall live by faith” (Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17, and Galatians 3:11). “We walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).
Presumption has no place in the life of a believer.
The parents who withhold medical care from a child because they “just know” God will heal him are living by presumption, not faith. The preacher who leaves home for some foreign land without a clear word from God because he “just knows” the Lord will not abandon him is testing God’s patience and being presumptuous.
“Keep back thy servant from presumptuous sins” (Psalm 19:13).
I want to live by faith. Faith means “I believe in God and I have confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ” (John 14:1). I have evidence, conviction, and to some extent, proof. What I do not have is all my questions answered, all my doubts removed, all the evidence I’d like. If I did have all that, I would not need faith but would be walking “by sight.”
God wants us to live and work, worship and teach, pray and serve by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
When lived out and applied, faith shows up in a lot of ways….
Think of the blind beggar of Jericho calling for “Jesus, Son of David!” to “have mercy on me!” (The story is told in Matthew 20, Mark 10, and Luke 18, with minor variations in each place. My favorite is Luke 18:35ff.) Keep reading
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