Faith is evidence, but it is also power. Its power lies in the fact that it is a quality of God. Therefore, the strength of a person’s belief that something is God-given and God-bestowed, gives confidence the action will take place. Failure results in the weakness of one’s belief. The Hebrew writer declares: “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11: 1). What does that really mean?

Evidence is Confirmation

Evidence is proof that something is or will happen. Usually, the proof is determined by what the physical senses describe as truth. However, the confirmation of faith is mental and cannot be perceived by the senses. What then validates its verification? One word: hope. Biblically, hope keeps faith alive and operating! It says, “I don’t see it, but I believe it exists!”

Expectation is Soul-Inspired

Hope is a strong desire for something to take place. It can be humanly negative or positive. However, hope with a spiritual derivation, is deeper . . . arising from Soul. It’s an expectancy of good that is rooted in the belief that God is good, and the source of all goodness. The Beatitudes point to such expectancy of good. A beatitude is a blessing–a blessing with conditions. It basically says, “If you want this to happen, this is what must take place first.” To receive a blessing, you must have strong convictions!

Confidence or Conviction

The confidence that you can receive a gift from God determines the strength of your convictions. It is more than a “maybe attitude.” Like most things in life, the strength of your belief is measured by the number of times you have proved something occurs. Confirmation is a step-by-step process. As we demonstrate, we learn. Each plateau becomes the springboard for the next affirmation. Patience is a “must-have” quality.

Faith is Evidence Beyond Hope

My favorite beatitude is “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). What is the message? It’s saying if you want to see God, your heart has to be pure. What is a pure heart? It’s one free of the ills of the flesh. You can’t steal, lie and cheat, and have a pure heart! So, if you are doing those things, your chances of mentally understanding and hearing divine messages is nil. Spiritually, we see through our thoughts.

Jesus put conditions on the blessings he told us we could have. He said, “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God” (Matthew 5:9). Hey guys, if you are not a peacemaker, you are not a child of God! It’s that simple. Make peace, not war!

Righteousness Proves Faith is Evidence

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled (Matthew 5: 6).

Are you searching for ways you can do a good deed? Be kind to someone? See everyone as you see yourself? When a negative thought tries to enter your consciousness, do you replace it with a spiritual one? How often do you read and study God’s Word? Study means pondering passages to gain a deeper meaning . . . not a literal one. What about controlling anger with “This person is a child of God?” These are confirmations that faith is evidence. Each day is an opportunity to prove it.