Faith = an abiding trust in God, a devotion by Keona J Tann

We are told that “Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13 (NLT)
Sounds pretty important, so let’s look at the first one mentioned – faith.

What is Faith?

The Amplified version of 1 Corinthians 13:13 describes faith as an abiding trust in God and His promises. An abiding trust…. what does that mean? Merriam Webster Dictionary explains that abides is: “to bear patiently; to endure without yielding; to wait for (‘will abide the coming of my lord.’ Alfred Tennyson); to accept without objection; to remain stable or fixed in a state; to continue in a place.”
Bible Study Tools mentions that abide is to “dwell”, referencing John 14:23, let’s look at that verse in the Amplified: “Jesus answered, “If anyone [really] loves Me, he will keep My word (teaching); and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling place with him.”
KJV Dictionary describes it as being “fixed or permanent in a particular condition.”
I want us to pause for a moment and look more into this abiding or dwelling. In John 6:56 Jesus promises that when we believed in Him, accept Him as our Saviour, and take part in communion, that we would then remain in Him and He is us. Then in John 15 Jesus describes Himself as the “true Vine”, refers to God as being “the vinedresser” and His followers as being “the branches”. Explaining that by remaining in Him (Christ) we (His followers) are able to bear fruit, but Jesus also warns that without our connection to Him we are barren –“can do nothing”. By obeying Jesus’ teachings we will remain in His love, we’re to follow His example for He kept His Father’s commandments and thus remained in His love. Jesus explained the importance of our connection to Him and wanted us to remain connected so that His joy and delight may be in us, a joy that may be made full, complete and even overflowing.
That’s pretty cool and I believe that being connected continually with Christ is the “permanent condition” that the KJV Dictionary refers to.
Faith, the abiding trust in God and His promises, requires us to put Christ’s promises into action. That means that no matter how we feel or what we see around us, we need to holdfast to His Word, be fixed, immovable, unshakable….. we’re to take our eyes off the things which are seen and focus on the things which are unseen, the everlasting and imperishable (2 Corinthians 4:18 ).

But what is everlasting and imperishable?

If we’re to take our eyes off our situation or the things that are troubling us, what then are we to focus on? What is the unseen, the everlasting and imperishable?
I’m so please you asked, let’s look at some examples of what we can focus on:
• God’s Word/Scripture/the Bible (Old and New Testament) for “..the Word of the Lord endures forever.” 1 Peter 1:25 (AMP).  I encourage you to stop stewing in your own worries by picking up the Bible and asking God to speak to you. Not sure where to start? I often find the Psalms are a great comfort to my hurting/wrestling heart and I love how Romans 8 unpacks the essence of the Good News, it details what Jesus has done, and offers such encouragement to press on to become “more than conquerors”.
• God’s lovingkindness: “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His lovingkindness (graciousness, mercy, compassion) endures forever.” Psalm 136:1 (AMP). I love sunrises, they remind me of the fact that God’s lovingkindness is new each and every day (Lamentations 3:22-23) so if you’re in a tough season I encourage you to spend some time watching the world come alive, listen to the bird’s as they sing their morning praises, take a moment to drink in the beauty as the sky bursts forth with light and colour. I can guarantee you that it will set you up for a great day!
• Jesus: “But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever.” Hebrews 7:24 (NLT). There is a song that has helped me through many dark days, the beautiful and timeless hymn: ‘What a Friend We Have in Jesus’. This song was birthed out of tragedy, Joseph Scriven (the author) lost 2 fiancées, experienced poor health, financial struggles and depression. The young Irish man had man moved to Canada and when he was around 35 years of age, in 1855, he wrote a poem titled “Pray Without Ceasing” in an effort to comfort his mother back in Ireland. Then, in 1868, Charles Crozat Converse (1834-1918) discovered the poem, added music to the lyrics and changed the name to ‘What a Friend We Have in Jesus’. I encourage you to add this song to your playlist as a tool to help you focus on Jesus, remind yourself of the wonderful benefits there are to knowing Him as a dear friend in the tough moments of life.
• We are promised that the Holy Spirit will be our Helper, Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor, Counsellor Strengthener and Standby forever (John 14:16-17). I think these roles cover every possible need that we may have. As the great Comforter the Holy Spirit comes alongside us to soothe our hurts; console us in our time of grief; reassure us of God’s great love; and bring cheer to our hearts. The wonderful thing about comfort is that it also grants us great courage to fight the good fight! As our Advocate the Holy Spirit promises to be our greatest support and our Champion defender. He also wants to advise us and give us strategies forward. As our Intercessor when we cannot form the words to pray the Holy Spirit will help us and there are even ways that we can communicate to God without words, such as sighs, groans or tears (See Romans 8:26 and Psalm 38:9). As our wonderful Counsellor we can know that the Holy Spirit loves to listen to our hearts, but He also longs to advise us. We are promised that He will give us practical insight into the problems we face and grant us the ability to make wise decisions. When we are weak the Strengthener will release His mighty power to energise and invigorate us. He can restore, reenergise, regenerate and renew us. As well as grant us the endurance we need to keep going. As our Helper and our great Standby the Holy Spirit is ready and willing to assist us. He is reliable and our greatest resource. Our relationship with the Holy Spirit is like any other relationship, it takes time to develop so keep pressing in and discovering Him as your Helper, Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor, Counsellor Strengthener, Standby and so much more!
• Eternity, for we will endure forever: “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (NLT) For us to try and wrap our head around eternity it is really tricky, but we see that through Jesus we are promised eternal life. The Apostle Paul was able to focus on the life to come and he declared: “For I consider [from the standpoint of faith] that the sufferings of the present life are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is about to be revealed to us and in us!” Romans 8:18 (AMP)
Faith, the abiding trust in God and His promises, requires us to simply trust that He is indeed good and has very good plans for us. We’re to simply trust that He loves us and NOTHING can separate us from His love (see Romans 8:38-39).

Closing thoughts and prayer:

Yesterday, the 28th of January 2021, marked 1,607 day since I have waited for God’s promised healing to unfold in my life. I spent time reading over 1 John 5 and one of the things that stood out to me was this:
We are VICTORIOUS! Those born of God are victorious and overcome the world because we believe in and recognise Jesus as the Son of God. The victory that overcomes the world is our continuous and persistent faith in Jesus. (1 John 5:4-5 Amplified paraphrased)
I know that as the challenges continue to rage on and as I wait for the promised breakthrough I MUST cling to Christ – have a continuous and persistent faith in Jesus. I must keep looking towards the things unseen. As I have collated this devotion I have found myself delving deep into some great treasures of Truth and they have placed a smile upon my face.
Today I really hope that You’re encouraged to keep pressing on

Let’s pray:
Jesus I always want to remain connected to You so that Your joy and delight may be in me; a joy that is made full, complete and overflowing!
When the tough times come, when life seems overwhelming, help me to remember to turn to Your Word, Your love letter to me God. Holy Spirit as I read speak to my heart, mind and spirit, unpack the truths contained within, empower me with the strength to press on in order to become victorious, transform me into more than a conqueror. Each and every day help me to see Your lovingkindness at work in and through my life. Jesus, I thank You for being a faithful friend, One with Whom I can share all my sorrows with, One that I can pour out all of my cares and concerns to, One Who truly understand and assists. Holy Spirit I thank You for the reminder that You want to be my Helper, Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor, Counsellor Strengthener and Standby forever. Thank You for longing to assist and advise me through all the challenges I face. Help me to have a childlike trust and to focus on the eternal things. God I trust You and Your promises, I declare that You are good; that You love me and that NOTHING can separate me from Your great love; I believe that You have very good plans for my life and I want to see each and every one come to pass. Almighty God, let Your will be done in and through my life I pray in Jesus’ mighty name. Amen.

Do you have a verse that boosts your faith? Please share it with us in the comments.

Many blessings,

Keona

Footnotes:
John 6:56 is the Amplified paraphrased.
John 15:1-11 is the Amplified paraphrased, I also included this in my prayer. Knowing Jesus lists 12 verses in relation to abiding with God.
2 Corinthians 4:18 Amplified paraphrased.
1 Peter 1:25 (AMP). Also Open Bible lists 34 verses related to this.
Psalm 136:1 (AMP), please note that I’ve only include the first verse, but the entire Psalm tells, line after line, of how God’s love endures. I also included this verse in my prayer. Open Bible lists 100 verses related to this.
The Information on the song ‘What a Friend we have in Jesus’ I was able to compile from GodTube & Hymnal/net. Here are the Lyrics (from Hymnal.net):
“What a Friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!

O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!

Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged,
Take it to the Lord in prayer!

Can we find a friend so faithful
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness,
Take it to the Lord in prayer!

Are we weak and heavy-laden,
Cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge—
Take it to the Lord in prayer!

Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer;
In His arms He’ll take and shield thee,
Thou wilt find a solace there.”

Here is a YouTube link to the song ‘What a Friend we have in Jesus’

My mention of the Holy Spirit giving us the ability to make wise decisions is inspired by this quote: “We will experience growth in wisdom and understanding as we rely on the Holy Spirit. He will give us practical insight into the problems of life. He will also give us the ability to make wise decisions. We can count on it because He is “the Spirit of wisdom and understanding.”” Pg 44 Pritchard, Ray. “Names Of The Holy Spirit.” Chicago: Moody Press, 1995.