Hebrew 11:1-3

11 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. ² For by it the people of old received their commendation. ³ By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

Faith is the assurance of things we hope for and the conviction of the things we yet cannot see. Faith is when we believe God for something, even when it looks unlikely or impossible. We have no evidence to back our belief. We have no assurance, but yet we believe. Where does this ability to believe come?

Ephesians 2:4-10

⁴ But^[c] God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— ⁶ and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷ so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Ephesians tells us that the grace of God has saved us through faith. In Mark, we get this account of a father bringing his ailing son to Jesus. Jesus told the father that all things are possible for the one who believes. The father recognises that even though he believed there was still unbelief in his heart and so he asked Jesus to help his unbelief. Jesus then healed his son.

Mark 9:22-29

 ²² And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” ²³ And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” ²⁴ Immediately the father of the child cried out^[d] and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” ²⁵ And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” ²⁶ And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” ²⁷ But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. ²⁸ And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” ²⁹ And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”^[e]

Hebrews 11:6

⁶ And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 

And most importantly, Hebrews reminds us that without faith, it is impossible to please Him. We must believe that he exists, to begin with, and that he rewards those who seek Him. So, from this, we know that faith is necessary; it is non-negotiable. We need to have faith to walk this walk; we need to have faith in God. We need to have faith in Jesus. We also know that through God, we get faith, so just like the father with the ailing son, we can ask for faith.

As we take the faith that God had given us when he saved us and choose to believe Him and his words, we can experience even more of him, which helps us grow in faith. As we see Him move in our lives and hear the testimonies of others, we grow in our faith. The Bible also tells us that faith comes by hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17).

So, as we see more and more who God is and what he is doing, our faith grows. Our faith is based on the more we grow closer to Him and get to know him. And we do this by trusting him, talking to him often and spending time in His word to see what he wants us to know.

The Bible also tells us of so many incredible miracles of God. These accounts of such miracles can remind us of who God is and what he is capable of doing. So today, I want to remind us of these great miracles in the hope that it inspires us to have more faith or at the very least go looking for these miracles in the Bible.  

Miracles of God from the Old Testament

• Creation (Genesis 1)
• Enochs was translated and did not die (Genesis 5)
• The Flood (Genesis 7)
• The donkey who spoke with a human voice (Numbers 22)
• The burning bush (Exodus 3)
• Moses’ rod turned into a serpent (Exodus 4, 30)
• River turned into blood (Exodus 7)
• Plagues of frogs, gnats, flies, boils, hail, locust, darkness (Exodus 8-10)
• Firstborn destroyed in Egypt (Exodus 12)
• Pillar of cloud and fire (Exodus 13-14)
• The parting of the red sea (Exodus 14)
• Manna from heaven (Exodus 16)
• Water from the rock (Exodus 17)
• Brazen Serpent healed many (Numbers 21)
• Dew on Gideon’s Fleece (Judges 6)
• Sun and moon stood still (Judges 10)
• The drought after Elijah prayed (1 Kings 17)
• The ravens fed Elijah (1 Kings 17)
• Widows’ son raised from the dead (1 Kings 17)
• Sacrifice consumed by fire (1 Kings 18)
• Rain for which Elijah prayed (1 Kings 18)
• Elijah translated in a chariot of fire and not dying (2 Kings 2)
• Hezekiah healed (2 Kings 20)
• Sharak, Meshack and Abendigo delivered from the fiery furnace (Daniel 3)
• Daniel delivered from the lion’s den (Daniel 6)
• Jonah in the belly of the fish (Jonah 2)

These are just a select few of the miracles from the Old Testament. If we genuinely believe that the Bible is the word of God, then we should believe every single one of these miracles, no matter how impossible or radical they seem. And if we believe these, then we can believe in almost anything in our lives. We can believe Him for healing, provision, protection, direction, and life itself. So let us meditate on these miracles and transform the way we believe and have faith in our God.