What comes to mind when you hear the word faith? When we are going through a difficult time in life we hear things like: Have faith, keep the faith. Those words are meant to encourage us, to comfort us. But having faith and keeping the faith can be very hard, especially when life isn’t going as planned or as we thought it should go.
What is faith? Here’s several definitions I found on the word faith:
- Complete confidence or trust in someone or something.
- Strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.
- Confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept.
- Confidence or trust in a particular system of religious belief.
“Keep the faith” is defined as:
- To continue to believe in, trust, or support someone or something when it is difficult to do so.
- Don’t stop believing.
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1)
Faith is mentioned many times in the bible. Just for fun, I did a Google search to find out how many times. This is what Google says:
“The word “faith” appears 336 times in the King James Version. Other bible versions have varying counts: Faith appears 458 times in the New International Version, 389 in the New King James Version, 378 in the New American Standard Bible and 521 in the Good News Bible (GNB).”
Short videos on faith:
What is Faith? by Jefferson Bethke
Bishop Barron on What Faith Is and What Faith Isn’t
“Trusting God completely means having faith that He knows what is best for your life. You expect Him to keep His promises, help you with problems, and do the impossible when necessary.” – Rick Warren
Keeping the Faith 