What Faith Can Do

One of the biggest questions people have about the Bible is: “How do I know if it’s true?”

I get it; it’s hard to pick up such old writings and believe that everything recorded is accurate, let alone all the wild stories that the Bible holds (talking donkeys, giants, angels with wheels, people coming back to life). Even so, the Bible has stood the test of time, with many of the stories confirmed in even ancient historical records outside the Bible.

If you are struggling to believe God has our best interest in mind, or just don’t believe, you are not alone. I could write pages and pages on how the Bible has been proven tried and true in my own life and other people’s, but I have to do this in 1100 words or fewer, so I want to give a few examples of how people of the Bible took a little faith and let God do the rest.

What it all comes down to is faith. Hebrews 11:1 states that, “Faith is being sure of what we hope for; it makes us certain of things we do not see.” This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. So much of Christianity and life in general comes down to simple faith, even if it doesn’t seem so simple.

The Hall of Faith is contained throughout Hebrews chapter 11. The author of Hebrews recounts many of the Old Testament heroes, from Abel to Rahab and everything in between. These heroes of the faith were not perfect — not by a long shot. But they all had one thing in common: faith in a God they may not have full proof of, but believe in anyway.

Abraham, one of the more prominent Old Testament figures, left everything he knew to follow a God he had never heard of before. Abraham was seventy years old when God told him to leave the bad influences of his hometown, and that the childless Abraham and his wife, Sarah, would never be able to number their descendants. God kept repeating that promise to them for thirty years, and along the way, Abraham made some bad decisions, but God was still faithful. When Abraham was 100, his son, Isaac, was born. That’s thirty years of waiting and still holding onto faith! Both he and Sarah are referenced in Hebrews 11 for their faith.

Rahab is one of the few women mentioned in this chapter. Her story appears in the book of Joshua as the woman who helped keep Israel’s spies alive as they scouted the city of Jericho. Rahab had only heard about the God of Israel and what He had done to free Israel from slavery and keep them alive in the wilderness for forty years (all of which takes place in the books of Exodus through the book of Joshua). Rahab was a prostitute whose whole family lived in Jericho. They knew next to nothing about God, yet Rahab somehow believed and had faith. Rahab became an ancestor to Jesus Himself thousands of years later when Jesus was born to Mary.

The whole Bible is full of people who took a tiny sliver of faith and followed God anyway. I’m sure they all had questions and doubts about what God was doing in their lives: Abraham and Sarah tried to take matters into their own hands more than once when it came to having this promised baby (Abraham’s story is told in Genesis). King David, also listed in this chapter, has plenty of shortcomings, even when God fulfilled every promise; he wrote Psalms about fears and doubts. The Bible is full of imperfect people, but those who keep their trust in God don’t regret it.

Questions are normal, even in people who have been Christians for decades. The Bible has hard truths and hard things to wrestle with that are sometimes difficult to understand. Even the strongest Christians have a hard time with this at times. What we have to remember is that we are not God. We cannot understand what He’s doing and why all the time. No, it’s not always easy, but He still promises to take care of us. Abraham certainly never saw the nation of Israel while he was alive. He died with only a handful of grandchildren to his name. But through his faith, one of his descendants was Jesus — which we can now see thousands of years later — but he didn’t at the time. When it looks like God is doing just one thing and we get frustrated, he is actually doing a million different things and following His timing, not ours. Even Abraham didn’t know better than God.

These are examples of things we cannot see. I know my life has been greatly affected by Jesus. It’s impossible to describe this “peace that passes all understanding” unless you live it for yourself (Philippians 4:7). Yes, I have been a Christian my entire life, and that alone is a testimony of the faith of my family before me, including my parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. I have this peace that even when I understand nothing, I know that God has a bigger plan.

If you want to know more about how the Bible has been proven in real life, I highly recommend you listen to Adrian Rogers’ “How to Know the Bible is the Word of God” episode on his podcast “Love Worth Finding.” He breaks down many scientific and historical occurrences that align with the Bible.

Having faith isn’t always easy. Questions should be asked, and you should look in the Bible for answers. Don’t just take someone else’s word for it, and don’t try to align it with what you want it to say. Read with an open mind and an open heart.