Faith is the evidence. Hebrews 11:1
People act out of belief. They don’t go skydiving with a chute they don’t think will hold think will hold them. If I’m considering skydiving, and I watch another person jump, the fact that they jumped out of the plane and survived is evidence that I, too, can trust the parachute. When you’re confident in something that you know to be true, you act on that belief. You move forward. Sometimes you even stake your life on it.
Before I jump out of the plane, I’m going to ask some questions. Is God who He says He is – the only God? Can He make good on His promises – does He have the ability to do what He claims? Will He do what He says He will do – what are His intentions towards me?
Christianity doesn’t ask you to blindly accept whatever you’re told about God. Instead we’re given a preponderance of evidence and invited to examine it carefully, in minute detail, and make up our minds.
First I predicted your deliverance; I declared what I would do, and then I did it – I saved you. No foreign god has ever done this before. You are witnesses that I am the only God, says the Lord. Isaiah 43:11-12
I told you ahead of time what I was going to do so that when it happened, you would believe in me. Now you’re witnesses. You’re people who can give testimony. You can tell other people about what I did so that they can believe, too.
When Jesus began His ministry, He went to the synagogue and read a passage from Isaiah 61 – “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, because the Lord has appointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to announce that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come” (Isaiah 61:1-2). He reminded them of what had already been promised, and then He said, What I said I would do is happening right now. Get ready for the evidence. (Luke 4:21)
Later, John the Baptist was imprisoned by Herod and doubt began whispering to him in his cell. He wondered if he’d made a mistake about Jesus, if he’d wasted his life. So he sent some of his followers to ask Jesus – are you really the Messiah? And Jesus replied, “Go back to John and tell him what you have seen and heard – the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor” (Luke 7:22). I told you what I was going to do, and I’m doing it. Look at the evidence.
Thomas gets a bad rap – Doubting Thomas he’s often called. But Jesus never chastised him for his doubts. Instead, He showed up and gave Thomas permission to examine the evidence – “Put your finger here and look at My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Stop doubting and believe” (John 20:27 Berean Study Bible).
If what God said in the way-back past about the not-so-distant past is true, isn’t it likely that what He said about the future is also true? This is the essence of faith. Confidence in what we have yet to see, not because of wishful thinking, but because of the evidence we’ve already seen. This faith is a strong and trustworthy foundation for your life.
We were not making up clever stories when we told you about the power of our Lord Jesus Christ and his coming again. We have seen his majestic splendor with our own eyes… Because of that, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. 2 Peter 1:16,19