Hearing and Faith Are First Cousins

 

Is hearing the voice of God related to faith? Most definitely.

Romans 10:17 says,

“So then faith comes by hearing and

hearing by the word of God (NKJV).”

Through the previous series, Learning to Hear the Voice of God, I sincerely hope that you learned to hear His voice. If you did, your faith was increased. Why? Because when you hear His word to you, your faith is increased.

It is accurate to say that hearing and faith are first cousins. They are not only related, but closely intertwined. You cannot hear the voice of God without increasing in faith. You cannot hear the voice of God without the faith to believe that God will speak to you.

So faith and hearing are inseparable, like the cords of a rope wound tightly together. Because they are inseparable, it is logical that we must examine faith.

What is it? What is faith?

The dictionary definition is: “Complete trust or confidence in someone or something.”

We operate in faith constantly. If we plug a lamp into an electric outlet, we believe the lamp will light up and give us light. That is faith in something, namely the electric current that comes from a wall outlet.

Faith in a person, however, is far more important.

When I was sixteen, I desperately wanted a motorcycle. I had already picked it out. I had decided on a Bridgestone 90cc motorcycle in candy apple red. My friend, Dale, had one and it was gorgeous. There was one problem, however. The motorcycle cost $340, and I didn’t have the money.

Dad had a solution. I could cut a carload of pulpwood and earn $170. If I did that, Dad said he would pay the other half of the cost of the motorcycle.

Well, the whole thing turned into a long, sweaty adventure. I had never before used a chainsaw. I carried the chainsaw into the east pasture where there was an ample supply of Poplar trees. I started up the chainsaw, fought off the the swarms of mosquitos, and began cutting pulpwood. All summer long I worked, and sweated, pausing often to apply a new layer of mosquito repellent to my exposed hands and face.

Once, when I was pushing the saw into the base of a tree, it slipped and took a swat out of my new Wolverine Boots. The blade didn’t hit my toe, but grazed the top of the boot, leaving a gash in the olive colored leather.

My mother let out a gasp when I returned home. I just laughed, mischievous young fellow that I was. She, of course, was having horrible visions of what might have been . . . me hobbling home with a bloody foot. But I had escaped the incident unscathed, so I had a sandwich and went back out to the east pasture to sweat and swat mosquitos some more.

When the cool, fall breezes invaded the remaining Poplar trees of the east pasture, I had managed to finish the task. My brother fired up the red International tractor, tied a logging chain to the drawbar and skidded the trees to the adjoining field. In a few days the pulp truck came to haul them to Kelliher, the town 17 miles south of us, to be stacked beside the railroad tracks. There, they were loaded on a railroad car and the train took them to the paper mill at International Falls.

In a few days Dad came home with a check for $170 from the lumber yard that had handled the sale. Then, at the evening meal, Dad with a big smile on his face, discussed completing the deal. I had fulfilled my part, and he was obviously more than a little proud of his son. Then, he surprised me. He said he would pay the whole amount for the motorcycle and I could keep the $170 I had earned. I was surprised . . . and extremely happy!

Dad had made me a promise, that he would pay for half of the motorcycle, and I took him at his word. I believed he would do what he said he would do. I had faith in a person, namely my Dad, and he surprised me by exceeding his promise.

When it comes to faith in our Christian walk, we have faith in a person, namely God, our Heavenly Father. Just like my earthly father, our Heavenly Father often exceeds His promises to us . . . and that’s a real hoot. But then, that is the privilege we have being a child of God.

Log in next week for the next installment, posted right here!

Photo designed and taken by Lorraine