What do we mean when we talk about faith? We use the word a lot, but it’s a concept that many of us have found hard to grasp. Hebrews 11:1 defines it well: “Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.”

What this tells us is that faith is based on content. It isn’t just about vague feelings. Nor is it a question of how much faith you have. It’s about what you are trusting in and how that is reflected by your actions—by the movement of your feet. Faith is acting like God is telling the truth. It’s acting like it is so, even when it’s not so, in order that it may be so, simply because God said so.

It’s acting like it is so, even when it’s not so, in order that it may be so, simply because God said so.

You shouldn’t look to your feelings first, because feelings change all the time. Instead, look at your feet first. In what direction are you moving? Are you operating in obedience to God?

When you look at the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11, you’ll discover that the people listed in that chapter are included because of what they did in response to what God did. God moves in response to faith because faith is a critical mechanism for seeing and experiencing the supernatural realm as it enters into the natural realm.

Faith is substantial, but faith deals with what you cannot yet see. If you put seeing before faith then it isn’t really faith at all. Faith is anticipating what you are looking forward to. Faith is about expectation, and the biblical word for that is hope. When you and I learn to expect big things from God and move in sync with Him through obedience (which is the essence of faith), then we will see more of God in our everyday circumstances. We will have more hope.

If you put seeing before faith then it isn’t really faith at all.

Faith doesn’t force God to do what He never planned to do, but it accesses what He has already planned to do as He sees that we are trusting in Him to do it. So, the question we should be asking ourselves is this: Am I doing what God has asked me to do in light of what He wants to do—in and through me—in the midst of my circumstances?

The Bible makes it clear that faith is so important that its absence can get in the way of God doing what He intends to do. That’s because He is waiting on our faith to manifest itself before He does what He has already determined to do. This means that if you want to grow your faith, you must grow in your perception of the bigness of God. The bigger you understand Him to be, the easier it will be to trust Him. Conversely, the smaller you see Him, the harder it is to trust Him. Therefore, our focus should not be on how much faith we can muster but on coming to know God more fully so that we can have greater confidence in Him for all the circumstances of our lives.

Faith is not an event. It is a lifestyle.

Faith is not an event. It is a lifestyle. So, let’s grow in our embrace of faith so that we can see more of God at work in our daily choices, actions, and expectations. There’s a lot more He is ready to do when He knows we’re trusting Him to do it.

Check out more from Dr. Tony Evans @tonyevans.org