Faith vs Presumption & A Give-Away!
This is WEEK 18 of the Character Development Series I am doing for 2012. 
So glad you stopped by!
This month also marks the 1st Year Anniversary of Grace & Grit. To celebrate, I want to give away a book by Max Lucado, one of my favorite authors. His book, In the Grip of Grace goes hand in hand with our topic of Faith vs Presumption and it also talks about what is so very dear to my heart, God’s unmerited GRACE!. To enter for a chance to win a hard copy of this book, just leave a comment sharing about something that increased your faith. For extra entries, tweet or share about this give away on FB and let me know you did that. This offer ends Wednesday, May 23.
Faith means:
1. Confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing.
2. Belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence.
Synonyms for faith: assurance, certitude, conviction, certainty, creed, dogma
Antonyms for faith: disbelief, doubt, uncertainty
What the Bible says about Faith:
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and thatHe is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
2 Corinthians 5:7 For we walk by faith not by sight.
Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Galatians 2:16 nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.
Examples from the Bible:
Noah: Faith that God would send a flood and save his family
Abraham:Faith to trust God when asked to sacrifice Isaac
Moses: Faith to go to Pharoah and warn him to let the Israelites go, Faith to carry them through the Red Sea and the Wilderness.
Joseph: Faith that God was with him and that he should do the right thing in the midst of Egyptian slavery and in jail
Daniel: faith to trust God even when thrown into a den of lions
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: Faith to trust God when put into a fiery pit.
The Apostles/Disciples: Faith to spread the Gospel even if it cost them a martyr’s death
The Example of Jesus to Us:
Matthew 17:20 And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.
Mark 4:40 And He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
Mark 11:22 And Jesus answered saying to them, “Have faith in God.
Luke 22:32 but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brother
Personal Thoughts and Application:
As a physical therapist, I encountered a pitiful patient who would not cooperate with his Rehab program and also did not recover well from his stroke. Why? because he believed that God would heal him without him having to do anything toward his own recovery. To me, this is a good example of the difference between faith and presumption. Although I believe that God can and will heal completely and miraculously, I think that a lot of the time, God expects us to be proactive in our own recovery ie cooperating with doctor’s, taking needed medications, exercising, eating healthy, etc. I think it is very presumptive to assume what path God chooses for your healing or to even presume that God must heal you when that may be outside of His divine purpose or His will for your life. Pray certainly, and hope certainly but faith is trusting that God knows best and has a plan even if the healing does not come, or does not come on the terms we would like. Job did not let his circumstances change His view of God….that is faith! (Job 13:15 Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.)
By contrast, I also think it is presumptive to rely on your own human strength, talents, and human abilities to be righteous. Faith is relying on God and God alone for salvation and righteousness because He alone is righteous.
Presumption, on the other hand, is a reliance on human moral abilities and religious accomplishments, on visible securities. It ultimately relies on human will power to serve God and people… a mix of presumption and faith produces a personal instability that surfaces in crises and major life transitions.” — Rose Marie Miller, from fear to freedom
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Posted on May 15, 2012, in Character Series and tagged Christian character, developing character, faith, In the Grip of Grace, presumption. Bookmark the permalink. 12 Comments.
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There are so many experiences that increased my faith but I think the biggest one is attending Bible Study Fellowship (BSF). It changed my life!! I have learned so much about who God is from the Bible! I used to have such a different view on who God was and because of that, I chose not to follow Him. This past Easter I felt the need to give my life to Him and this time I made the choice in my heart to let Him in. Now I see things different, and I can’t wait to learn more about him!
This is my first time here and typically I don’t comment but I felt compelled to because I just heard about Max Lucado. At BSF, I heard an amazing story by him and then my mom ordered it for me for mothers day! I can’t wait to get the book from her on Friday!
Thanks for sharing Erin…so glad you let Him love you and come into your heart. Max Lucado is my favorite author! You will learn so much from his books.
Truthfully, I have never heard of Max Lucado and although I have believed in God my whole life and was saved in my late teens and Baptized a couple of years ago, I have never felt that I ‘know Him’ or hear His answers. And that saddens me! I want to really Know God!This year I did my first Bible Study at our church and it has really helped me to grow in my faith. I have been reading everything I can get my hands on so that I can learn and grow with God! Actually that was my Resolution this year – Grow with God! Thank you for a chance for this book and learn more about our Savior.
Brandi, God will honor your sincere desire to know Him. I’ve been there too when God felt very distant and removed from my life, yet I believed in Him. He is there, and if you continue to seek, you will find a beautiful, intimate, very personal relationship with the One who made You and wants to love you.
I’ve had many experiences that led to increased faith, mostly in the form of answered prayers. Once such experience was many years ago when I came home to be a full time mother. We had to cut our income in half and had a lot of debt. God asked us to make many sacrifices, which we did, but the debt was still there and we had no way to pay those bills. My husband felt he should take a loan against his retirement fund to pay off those debts and I didn’t agree. I felt that was just another debt. I finally gave up and prayed that God would have his way and help me stay out of the way. Not only did those businesses reduce the amount we had to pay to pay off our debt with them, but God opened up a seemingly impossible promotion with a pay increase. That pay increase was just enough to cover the amount that would need to be paid each week to repay the loan from the retirement fund. I knew then that God would take care of us no matter what.
God knows our heart and our motives. Isn’t it amazing how He does provide when we surrender the results to Him. Sometimes, he even answers our prayers with a WOW factor. Those are the ones that stick with me too, and sometimes when I am discouraged I remember those amazing answers to prayer and I am comforted that the sovereign God of the Universe cares.
there are the many so called little ways He increases our faith by watching for His interventions throughout the day!! There are more than you can #!!
I’m sure your faith is very strong Maria for you seek and find Him in the everyday. I wrote a post about that (To Catch A Glimpse of You Lord. Pt1). Isn’t it great how He speaks to us, teaches us, and shares His splendor daily.
Wonderful review! I think one of the major times that my faith was increased was when I was pregnant with my first child and encountered difficulties. My faith was stretched. We had been trying to have a child for awhile and it had not happened. Then it did and there were major complications. Thankfully, our son was born and is a happy, healthy 10 year old today. I look back and see how much my faith and walk with God grew in that time.
What a blessing! I love your wording “my faith was stretched.” This is not a perfect world, (hence it’s called Earth and not Heaven), but I think He uses the trials to mold us and shape us into His image, and certainly to grow our faith. (James 1:2)
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