How God Feels About Our Faith By Pastor Shari Stephens 0

Ready Faith’s key scripture is Hebrews 11:6,

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

What makes this statement so powerful is that we find out what God requires to please Him and what He will do for those who seek Him.  We hear all the time how important our faith is, but I really wanted to explore what we could find in scripture as to how God feels about it. After all, because He is God, He is the one who got to establish the terms of our relationship and, faith is the MOST important element.

In the Old Testament, we see God expressing Himself over the Children of Israel’s lack of faith when they sent the spies into the Promised Land.  Ten of the Twelve came back with fear-filled, doubt-filled reports and look at what God said in Number 14:10-12,

“Then the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the Israelites. The Lord said to Moses, ‘How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs I have performed among them? I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they.’”

God said the people treated Him with contempt, let’s define that word,

Contempt means the act of despising.  Lack of respect or reverence for something. The feeling that a person or a thing is beneath consideration, worthless, or deserving scorn. 

 This passage reveals several things about how God feels about our faith or lack thereof.

1. God asks how long will they treat him with contempt? Their lack of faith made God feel despised, not reverenced, scorned, and worthless.  What a terrible thing that we have the power to make God feel this way by our lack of faith and trust in Him.
2. God ask how long will they refuse to believe in me in spite of the signs I performed among them? God knew exactly what He had done in their midst to reveal who He was, His power, His love, His favor for them and His activity in their lives and yet they still failed to believe in Him.  He was very aware of every reason they had to trust Him. He was also equally aware that there was no reason that they should not.  How may reasons do you have to believe in God? How many things have you seen to remind you of His power, His love, His grace and His favor in your life and yet does doubt still linger?
3. Because of this, He wanted to strike them down and get rid of them permanently. It made God angry.  It hurt Him. He remembered His covenant to Abraham and said He would just raise up a new people through Moses, but Moses appeals for mercy on their behalf and God grants it.

When you don’t have faith, you are not pleasing to God, and there is no way to please Him without it.  Yes, He has feeling about it. Today, let’s make it a day of remembering the goodness of the Lord in our lives, let’s think on His favor, His miracles, His kindness displayed toward us.  Let’s share this with our families and friends and with the world.  Let’s reflect on why we believe, boost our own faith while we please God, and show no signs of contempt amongst us!

[Read: Why I Believe By Pastor Shari Stephens in The Hall of Faith tab on ReadyFaith.Com]