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 – Hebrews 11:6

Faith is complete trust and confidence in someone or something. Several dictionaries define faith as a strong belief in a doctrine based on spiritual understanding. Hebrew 11:1 tells us that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. In Hebrews 11, we see how many godly men were justified in God’s eye because of their faith.

Our text for today points us to one fundamental truth about God – it is impossible to please Him without faith. God requires that we have absolute faith in His direction and guidance for our lives, anything contrary to that is a sign of unbelief. Mark 5:5-6 shows us clearly how Jesus was unable to perform miracles in His hometown due to unbelief on the part of the people. A person can never receive anything from God except their faith matches the standard required.

In Numbers 13, Moses sends twelve spies to explore Canaan and return with a report of the land. After the twelve men had returned, they all confidently told the children of Israel that “this is the fruit of the land, which floweth with milk and honey.” (Num. 13:27). However, ten out of the twelve fearfully reported that although the city was exactly as God had said, it was walled in and the people living there were giants, so it was impossible to depose the inhabitants. This report of unbelief spread very quickly in the camp. When the two men who gave a different report, Joshua and Caleb, tried to stir up faith in the people by telling them to believe in God, they picked up stones to kill them. God then decrees that due to their lack of faith , all those above the age of 20 in the camp would die without entering the promise land, and that started the forty year journey in the wilderness.

Unbelief is mostly caused by past experiences, present circumstances, lack of knowledge, comparison with others, fear of failure etc. In Egypt, the Israelites were exposed to scarcity, suffering, forced labor and humiliation. That is all they had known. However, the works God worked for them in Egypt were good enough to merit a degree of faith on their part, at the very least. Their lack of faith cost them the promise. Today, God is telling us to replace what we know is good with His word. It is my prayer that we will open our hearts up to his word and uphold it as the ultimate truth for our lives, Amen.