Lynne Little Ministries - Higher Realm

Little by Little - Part Six - Faith, Made Plain

• Lynne Little

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What if the most solid thing in your life isn’t what you can touch, but the promise that made the world? We explore a simple, biblical path to understanding faith that cuts through opinion, mood, and hype. Starting with Hebrews 11:1, we break down faith as the substance of what we hope for and the evidence of what we can’t yet see, showing how God’s word offers a firmer foundation than shifting circumstances.

We talk candidly about why faith matters to God and to us. Without faith it’s impossible to please him, not because he’s setting a trap, but because trust is the way we step into his kingdom’s reality. We connect this to everyday life: how faith steadies us in grief, how it reframes our choices, and how it frees us from the pressure to manufacture spiritual strength. Salvation by grace through faith becomes the model for everything else—receiving what God gives, not straining to earn what only he can provide.

Then we get practical. You already have a measure of faith if you belong to Christ; the question is how to grow it. Romans 10:17 points to a simple rhythm: keep hearing God’s word, and then do it. We share clear steps to feed your faith with Scripture, align your actions with what you’ve heard, and watch trust deepen as obedience turns truth into lived experience. If you’re navigating loss, doubt, or a long season of waiting, this conversation offers a grounded way forward—less about trying harder, more about leaning into the Word that frames reality.

If this encouraged you, follow the show, share it with someone who needs hope, and leave a review so others can find it. Have a question or a story to share about growing your faith? Send us a note—we’d love to hear it.

Lynne:

You are listening to Higher Realm. Our program highlights biblical strategies for living through life's difficulties and finding your path to healing. We tackle issues particular to those who have experienced painful loss in any form. Lynne is the founder and president of Lynne Little Ministries and the author of Missing Lisa, A Parent Grieves, and Finding God in Death and Life, A Passage Through Grief. Now, here's Lynne. Hello, and welcome to the sixth episode in our series entitled Little by Little. We hope you're being blessed and gaining insight while we've been discussing several terms that are commonly used in Christian circles. Among them are the concepts of original sin and sin nature, the terms saved, salvation, and born again, the subject of multiple baptisms, and finally the protocols that help us to discover the will of God for our lives. Today we will discuss the fundamental question: what is faith? For the sake of clarity, I have divided the topic into four categories. First, what faith is, second, why it is necessary. Third, how to get it, and fourth, how to increase it. So, what is faith? Is it a belief? What about a state of mind? A feeling or sensation? What about a trust in a person, a thing, or a concept? A reliance on something or someone other than ourselves? Is it all of those things, some of those things, none of those things? The subject of faith has been endlessly discussed, argued, and pontificated on in countless settings through time immemorial. So how can we possibly distill it into a short 20-minute episode? How? Easily. For a Christian, faith is a simple concept when we base our understanding solely on God's word. Making God's word the final authority clears up any area of debate, confusion, or misunderstanding. Because it's God's thoughts we're after, not our own. In all the many years I have been a Christian, never once, not one time, did God ever ask me what my opinion was on any subject. So what we think can become a great impediment if our thoughts become preeminent over God's word. While we investigate this, then why not lay aside all preconceived notions of what we think faith is? Now, how important is faith? The word faith appears over 240 times in the Bible, which sounds like something we should prioritize. Wouldn't you agree? God's word also states that faith is required in order to please God. Hebrews 11:6 reads, and 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. Given that faith is established as a fundamental standard, it would be challenging to fulfill God's expectations without a clear understanding of its definition. And yet individuals try and guess or figure it out on their own all the time. This leads to the common misconception in the Christian life that individuals must somehow create faith or construct it for themselves. They struggle to stoke faith by doing Christian works, by praying more, by trying harder, in other words, by working it up. Scripture states that these actions are not the way to obtain faith, but more about that shortly. Our starting place then will be to first define the term. And for that, we'll consult the Word of God. It stands to reason that God's definition matters the most, and is found in Hebrews 11:1. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hmm. That seems a bit esoteric. So let's unpack this phrase by phrase. The first phrase is faith is the substance. The word translated faith is pistis in the Greek, which means a conviction of a truth. Now the word has multiple meanings in different contexts, but in this context, it's the idea of confidence in something or a firm conviction. Faith is referred to as a substance. A substance is something that has mass and occupies space. The word substance or hypostasis is a Greek term that means substantive reality. Perhaps a better word that we can identify more with is the word tangible. Faith is a tangible. So we could compile it by saying faith is a confidence in a tangible. The next phrase reads, of things hoped for. Now, are these things tangible? Yes. The things that we are trusting for could be both material or spiritual or both. So what is hope? It means to consider possible. And we have hope to receive certain things. Hope, or el piso in the Greek, is to trust with confident expectation. So let's put it together. So faith is the confidence in a tangible of the things we desire and consider possible. The next phrase is the evidence. Evidence is a set of indications that help in forming a conclusion or judgment. So putting it together so far, it goes something like this. So faith or confidence is a tangible of things we desire and consider possible based on indications. The final phrase is of things not seen. The indications referred to are not apparent, are they? So faith is a tangible of things we desire and consider possible based on indications that are not visible. Apparently, while faith itself is a tangible, the evidence is apparently not. How can something be both tangible and invisible? Well, we might consider the wind, for one, but let's put it this way. Faith or confidence as a tangible serves as the evidence of the invisible? So faith provides a certainty about things we can't observe. How is this possible? How can something as seemingly ethereal as faith have substance? How can we be certain about things we cannot see? Moreover, what creates such a certitude? According to Christian belief, faith is based on things that are more tangible than the known world. According to Scripture, the spirit world, although it's unseen, is more tangible or substantive than the natural world. We have a window to this concept in Hebrews chapter one, verse three. Through faith, we understand that the worlds, and presumably everything in them, were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen are not made of things which do appear. Well, when God, who is an unimpeachable source, and the only one in the universe, by the way, who merits that designation, when He gives His Word, the same word, by the way, that created the worlds, we can trust it with our lives. Nothing in existence is more substantive than that. Taking it a step further, could it be that God has a completely different view of reality than we? Although we can't see faith, God sees it. What makes it a tangible is that God has a window to our hearts and our thoughts and our circumstances and all reality which cannot be observed with a natural eye. So by employing faith in God's word, we are essentially considering the unseen world as far more significant than the things of the physical world. It tells us in 2 Corinthians 5: 7, for we walk by faith not by sight. So why is it necessary? Well, first God requires it. We've already stated that in order to please God, we have to walk in faith. But why would he require this? One thing is clear. Jesus himself said to doubting Thomas, "Blessed is he that does not see and yet still believes." There's something about God where he is so pleased when people demonstrate their utter trust in him and his word by walking in faith regarding things they cannot yet see. A second reason why it's necessary. Jesus spoke often that his kingdom was not of this world, although quite substantive and encompassing. It cannot be measured by material entities or things. Taking our place in this kingdom requires us participating in a domain that is not reliant on the world at all for its sustenance or for its continuance. The word describes it as an everlasting kingdom. Such a description could not be affixed to our present environment. That is certain. Third, it matters because our entire salvation, the foundation upon which we stand, is based on faith and the act of faith in trusting God in the completed work of Jesus Christ. Our pledge of allegiance to Christ demonstrates our complete and total reliance on God and not on our natural surroundings or on our own efforts to save ourselves. It necessitates a complete dependence on God's resources and a diminution of ego and self-reliance. And fourth, faith is a significant force for good to those who know how to wield it. How is that? It's the one thing that remains when everything else has failed. Faith brings God's unlimited resources to bear on every situation. When intelligently applied, it allows individuals to move in a realm where power is available to move mountains, overcome adversity, and live beyond the influences of our circumstance. So, how do we get it? Surprise, we already have it. According to Scripture, all born-again Christians already have faith. We've been given a measure of it by God. Romans 12:3 reads, "For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith." So we've all been given this measure. In fact, none of it could have been born again without it, because it takes faith. Ephesians 2: 8 through 9 reads, "For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God." Now, notice that it does not say everyone is given a different measure, just a measure, and we have been gifted that. We don't create it or make it happen or invent it or dream it up. So what is this measure of faith based on? Because we just found out that it has substance. Who sets the criteria? God does. How? Through words. Recall that the worlds were framed by the word of God. So, having said that, how do we increase it? Why do some people seem to have a larger measure of faith than others? Well, somewhere along the line, they have made a solid commitment to grow it. How do you grow anything? You feed it. You feed it on the same word that created the worlds. Romans 10: 17 tells us this. "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." We grow our faith through the study of the word. But notice the scripture does not say that faith comes by having heard the word. Instead, the word hearing connotes a continuum. Then the next step is to do what it says. James 1:21 says, "Be you doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." The watchwords are hearing and doing. The measure we give to these elements correlates to the measure of faith we grow in and are able to exercise. It is an uncomplicated formula that is fail-safe. Weak faith?, multiply our hearing level through personal study, and immersing ourselves in the preached and spoken word. Unbelief? Time to check our obedience level to the word. Obeying the word keeps us out of the trap of self-deception. While we are on the subject of obedience, have you obeyed Jesus' command to be saved? The word tells us if we confess with our mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in our hearts that God raised him from the dead, we would be saved. Would you repeat this prayer with me and believe it with all your heart? Heavenly Father, I know that I am a sinner. I believe you sent Jesus to die on the cross to pay the price for my sins. I believe that you raised him to life on the third day. Jesus, I invite you to come into my heart, forgive my sins and make me brand new. I confess you as my Lord and Savior. Amen. If you prayed that prayer, drop us a line. Lyne Little Ministries @a gmail.com. Have a blessed week. Thank you so much for listening. Lynne Little Ministries is a 501c3 whose mission is to assist those who have suffered loss and to help them discover hope, peace, and restoration. For books, resources, or to make a tax deductible donation, go to lynnelittle.org.