In my lifetime, I've met Christians who are like waves tossed on the sea. Their walk with God lacks vitality; they do not bear much fruit because they are too busy fretting over how "weak" or "strong" their faith might be. When trials strike, they feel singled out and worry that God is punishing them for some terrible sin they must have committed. When God doesn't answer their prayers exactly as they want him to, they doubt God even hears their prayers.

They overlook the simplicity of faith; that is, living a life of fidelity to Christ despite what hardships come their way. These Christians share one thing in common: a misunderstanding of the true meaning of faith.

Definition of Christian Faith

Let’s take a look at the rest of the chapter because it goes on to explain what faith is. Verse 3: "By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible." Verse 6: "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."

Right off the bat, we see that faith is belief. Believing that God is our Creator and that Jesus Christ is our Savior. Those are the bare bones of the Christian faith. So, if you are a professing Christian, then you have faith. That’s the easy part. It’s when we try to dissect the deeper aspects of faith (the meat and the muscle) that we become overwhelmed and disillusioned.

Hebrews chapter 11 gives a summary of the Old Testament men and women of God, their faith in God, and the promises God gave each one. Men like Abraham and women like Rahab. Verse 13 says, "All these people were still living by faith when they died [They still believed in God and his Word when they died] . . . They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth."

Two things here: 1) Faith is believing in God and who he says he is, until the day you die, and 2) Faith is remaining faithFUL to God, even when you do not see your prayers answered and his promises to you fulfilled in your lifetime.

This is a hard truth to come to terms with. How many of you have prayed for decades for a loved one to come to Christ, only to see them pass away without making a commitment to God? How many of you have begged God to take away the illness of a loved one only to see that dear friend suffer and die from a long, painful cancer.

Sometimes we focus so much on the "no" answers to prayer that we forget about all the yes answers we’ve received.