The psalmist demonstrated the spirit of faith to us when he wrote, “I believed, therefore I spoke…” (Psalms 116:10). Later, the Apostle Paul recalled those words and wrote, “Since we have the same spirit of faith…we also believe and therefore speak” (2 Corinthians 4:13). We can see, then, that believing and speaking are both vital elements of faith.
Notice that Paul said, “We have the same spirit of faith.” He wanted us to know that anyone who has faith – whether it is you or me or Billy Graham – has the same spirit of faith and that it operates the same way for everyone. It has nothing to do with how old you are or how long you have been a believer. The Bible tells us that David had the spirit of faith when he was a teenager and that Joshua and Caleb operated in it when they were in their eighties.
Faith Sees Victory
It is very easy to see the contrast between those who have the spirit of faith and those who do not by reading Numbers 13 and 14. There, we see that Moses sent twelve spies – including Joshua and Caleb – into the Promised Land. For forty days those men traveled together and scouted out the territory.
When they returned, they gave very different reports even though they had all seen exactly the same things. Caleb said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it” (Numbers 13:30), but ten of the spies banded together and said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we” (Numbers 13:31).
What was the difference? God said that Caleb had “a different spirit” (Numbers 14:24). That different spirit was the spirit of faith! Joshua also had the spirit of faith, and because of it, both he and Caleb were able to inherit the land God had promised. Those who did not have the spirit of faith were unable to enter in.
All twelve had observed the same things, but their perspectives were determined by what was inside them, not by what they saw. Likewise, you and I don’t see with our eyes, we see through them. We see with our hearts, and anyone with the spirit of faith can see victory even before it is visible to others.
Faith Smells Victory
John wrote, “This is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith” (1 John 5:4). Undeniably, it is faith that gives us victory and enables us to overcome.
I once heard about a man who was taking a nap. As a joke, someone put Limburger cheese on his mustache. When he woke up, he thought, “It really stinks in here.” He walked out into the living room, sniffed and thought, “It stinks in here, too.”
Knowing that his wife had just baked a pie, he went into the kitchen thinking it would smell better there, but it smelled just as bad! Trying to escape the odor, he went outdoors and inhaled deeply only to discover that it smelled just as bad outside as it did inside! To him, the whole world seemed to stink!
When you have the spirit of faith, the whole world smells like victory and you carry the scent of it with you wherever you go. While one person can look at a problem and think that there is no way out, you ca look at the same problem and say, “With God, I am well able to overcome it!”
The Arena of Faith
Indeed, faith is the victory, and as long as you and I stay in faith, we are overcomers. The devil knows this and will try every play in his book to get us out of the arena of faith.
I once saw a bicycle competition between ten athletes from a variety of sports. It was quite a sight! There they were at the starting line on identical bikes: a big, muscular NFL linebacker, a seven-foot tall NBA basketball player, a fit-looking golfer, and seven others including a meek-looking ping pong champion.
The starting gun went off, and the linebacker took off like a flash. He was way ahead of everyone for the first two hundred yards, but then the basketball player and the golfer went by. Everyone – including the ping pong player – passed him. By the end of the race, the football player barely managed to cross the finish line.
You and I would not want to meet the linebacker on a football field, but on a bike, either of us could probably beat him! On the football field, he is an overcomer, but when he is outside his arena, he is not even a contender.
That is how it is for Christians. The devil will attempt to get you into the arena of sight or circumstances, your past, your feelings, or your failures. He wants to face you anywhere except in the arena of your faith. He’ll say to you, “It looks to me like things are getting worse instead of better. It looks like you are going under.” But when you have the spirit of faith, you don’t let him lure you out of the arena of faith. Instead of believing the devil’s lies, you simply say to him, “I walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).
Faith Speaks Victory
In Mark 11:22-24, Jesus was teaching His disciples, and He told them, “Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, whosoever shall say unto this mountain, be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith” (KJV).
According to Jesus, if we believe, but say nothing, that is not faith. He didn’t say, “This works for those who believe in their heart.” He said it works for “Whosoever shall say…and not doubt in his heart.” We need both parts: believing and saying.
The mountain you are facing needs to hear your voice, and it is not going to budge until you speak to it. Someone might say, ‘Well, I just believe that my mountain (my problem) comes from God. He sent it and is using it to keep me humble. He’s using it to teach me or test me.” But, think about this: if God wanted you to have the mountain, why would Jesus have taught you how to move it?
You see, it is not up to God whether the mountain stays or leaves. Jesus said it will move for “whosoever shall say.” In other words, it is up to you. Maybe you have been waiting for God to move in a situation, but the truth is, He is waiting for you to speak to the mountain and tell it to move.
Faith that “Pops!”
When you make popcorn, you put it in the microwave and turn it on high. For awhile, absolutely nothing appears to be happening. After a period of time, you’ll hear a “pop.” If you were to take it out right then, you’d be like someone who speaks to their mountain, and when something good happens, they say “Is that all I get? I’ve been confessing positive things for months, and this is all I get?” But, if you leave the popcorn in the microwave and wait, you’ll hear another “pop,” then another “pop, pop, pop” and pretty soon, all you can hear is popping!
Whatever you do, do not turn the microwave on defrost. If you do, you can leave the popcorn in all day and never hear a single “pop.” Likewise, you don’t want to be a believer whose faith is on the defrost setting. Don’t say one thing in church but another in the car on the way home or one thing to your church friends but another to your co-workers. Instead, keep your faith on high, consistently believing and speaking everything that the blood of Jesus Christ has purchased for you!
(All scriptures are from the New King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise stated.)
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