FAITH,
CHARACTERISTICS OF

FAITH has to have substance. If after a child has lost a tooth, their parent goes to bed, saying, “I am trusting the tooth fairy to put a dollar under my son’s pillow,” that’s just wasted conversation. There’s no such thing as a tooth fairy. There’s no substance. In order for faith to do something, it must be based on something. Christians are told to have faith in the Word of God.278

[Bible, Authority of; Word of God]

Ps. 119:105; 2 Tim. 3:16

IN A farming community, it hadn’t rained in a long time, and things were getting desperate. The ministers decided they were going to call a prayer meeting. They said, “Look, we want the whole town to come to the prayer meeting and bring their religious symbols.” So the whole town showed up for the prayer meeting and people brought crosses, they brought their Bibles, the Catholics brought their rosaries, and they all cried out to God. They finished the prayer meeting. No rain was in sight. They all went home.

The next day though, in the town square where they had had the meeting, there was a little boy. “Oh, God, we need rain. God, show Your power, and give us rain.” The day before, with all the preachers and all the religious symbols, calling on God, no rain. The little boy shows up the next day by himself in the town square, and as he was praying, the sky got darker. As he was praying, rumbling occurred. As he was praying, the shower hit, and it was pouring down rain.

What was it about this little boy? He said the same things that all the people said the day before. The day before they had all the preachers, they had all the ministers; they even brought their religious symbols. But the day the young boy came, when the clouds got dark, he lifted up the symbol that he brought: an umbrella. He expected it to rain.

When you anticipate rain, you take an umbrella. When a man tells you it’s going to rain, when a meteorologist says it’s going to storm today, most people will get their umbrellas because they believe his word. Meteorologists are wrong half the time and we still take them at their word. Why is it, when it comes to God, who is never wrong, we hesitate to believe and act on His Word?279

[Faith, Acting in; Trust in God]

Mark 10:15; James 2:26