Faith That Does: Building, Believing, and Becoming

I’ve read great books—starting with the Bible—and I’ve heard excellent teachings and sermons on faith. It’s a subject of the utmost importance, and it’s far from simple. That’s why I would never tell someone to “just believe.” Faith is not the same as simply believing.

Believing is accepting something as true—usually based on evidence, logic, or personal experience. And belief can change. It can shift based on what you hear, what you go through, or how things turn out. Faith, on the other hand, is stronger. It’s deeper. It’s active trust and full reliance—even when you don’t fully understand, even when you can’t see how it will work out, even when there’s nothing in the natural to back it up. Faith involves action. It involves commitment. It’s belief put into motion.

The Bible defines faith as “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). And James 2:26 reminds us that “faith without works is dead.” That’s because faith doesn’t just sit there. It moves. It chooses. It speaks. It responds.

Faith requires knowing and trusting God. And that means knowing and believing the Word of God. You can’t have faith in someone you don’t know. You can’t trust someone whose character you’re unsure of. Faith also requires submission and surrender. It takes humility. You can’t hold tight to your flesh, stay attached to the world, and expect to walk in faith. The Kingdom of God doesn’t operate like the world does. In fact, it often opposes it. Which means faith will usually require you to stand on what can’t be seen—and to believe for what looks impossible.

Have you ever paused to think about what Paul meant in Romans 10:17 when he said, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God”? Faith grows when we keep hearing the Word of God—when we study it, meditate on it, speak it, and let it transform how we think and live. Why? Because that’s how we come to know God. That’s how our relationship with Him gets established. That’s how we renew our minds, overcome our flesh, and learn to be led by the Spirit.

And remember that list of everything we receive at salvation? All the blessings Jesus paid for on the cross? We don’t automatically walk in all of it. We have to receive it. Step into it. Believe it. That’s where faith comes in. The more we receive, the more our faith grows—and the more our lives begin to reflect what He’s already made available to us.

We’ve all been given a measure of faith (Romans 12:3), but what we do with it is our choice. We can build it, strengthen it, and let it grow—or we can neglect it and watch it fade. This is a recurring theme we all need to be reminded of: God has already provided everything we need. Through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, we’ve been given victory, power, and authority over all things in this world. But if we don’t walk in that truth, we won’t experience it. And that’s exactly what the enemy wants. He doesn’t want us to know, understand, or live from that place—because if we did, we would walk in true freedom, carry out our Kingdom assignments, and actually see heaven manifest on earth. The enemy can’t take away what God has given—but he will do everything he can to keep us from believing it, receiving it, and living it out.

Faith In Action

I’m writing about faith in June 2025—an interesting and unexpected time in my life. I went deeper into learning about and developing my faith when God told me I didn’t know how to trust Him as my Provider. So I leaned in. I drew closer to Him, determined to trust Him more fully—and then I ended up getting evicted from my home.

On the surface, it looked like God had failed to provide. But since that eviction, I haven’t gone without. I’ve never lacked support, help, encouragement, or a roof over my head. He led me back to be with family, where I’ve had the opportunity to serve, help, and support my dad and stepmom in ways I’ve never been able to before. What looked like a setback has been used for restoration and deeper connection.

If it had been up to me, I would have chosen for my business to finally take off—for me to easily pay my bills and step into a new phase where I’m stewarding a multi-million-dollar Kingdom business and watching God move through the work we do. I wouldn’t have chosen the path God chose for me, because I wouldn’t have known this path was even an option.

What I first saw as a trial to endure has become a blessing I couldn’t have imagined. Faith made that possible. Faith is what allowed me to believe—beyond what I saw or felt—that God knows best, and that all things truly do work together for my good. Faith helped me release my need for control and let go of how I thought things should unfold. I thought the best outcome would’ve been for my rent to get paid. But God knew the best outcome was for me to learn, once and for all, that I trust Him at all times. To remember His ways are not my ways. And to allow His perfect work to be done in me.

If we hold too tightly to how we think things should go, we’ll miss what God is actually doing. Faith isn’t about getting our way—it’s about trusting His. It’s not about controlling outcomes; it’s about surrendering to His will, even when it looks nothing like what we pictured. God’s faithfulness isn’t proven by how well He meets our expectations—it’s revealed in how perfectly He fulfills His plans. And He always does. Even when the path is painful or unclear. Faith says, “God, I trust You—not just with what I want, but with what You know is best.”

Faith Pleases God

I think Hebrews 11:6 is one of the most beautiful and compelling verses in all of Scripture. It says, “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.”

It doesn’t just tell us that faith is necessary—it tells us why. It reveals something breathtaking: that it’s actually possible for us to please God. Think about that. The Creator of heaven and earth—the One who holds all things together—can be pleased by you. If that doesn’t stop you in your tracks, you might be missing the weight of what’s being offered here. We, finite and flawed, have been given the ability to bring joy to the heart of the Great I Am through our faith. That’s not just amazing—it’s humbling. It’s an invitation into relationship, not religion. Faith isn’t just about receiving from God; it’s about delighting Him with our trust.

God wants to be known. He wants to be trusted. He wants to reward those who come after Him—not casually or occasionally, but earnestly, with sincere hearts and open hands. Hebrews 11:6 isn’t just a theological statement—it’s an invitation and a promise. It tells us that faith pleases God, and that He rewards those who seek Him. Let that sink in: the Creator of the universe—who needs nothing—desires to reward those who desire Him. And there is no one greater who can reward us. No earthly success, no relationship, no title, no accomplishment can compare to what He gives to those who seek Him.

This verse should shake us out of complacency. It should stir us to pursue God not just when we’re desperate, but because we’ve realized there’s nothing and no one more worthy of our pursuit. He doesn’t reward perfection. He rewards pursuit. He responds to hunger, to longing, to faith that says, “God, I want You more than anything else.” That’s the kind of faith that moves mountains, but more importantly, it moves His heart. And that alone should motivate us to live by faith every single day. Not to earn His love, but because His love invites us into a life that only faith can access.

Faith Speaks Truth, Not Denial

Now, let me make this clear—faith is not denial. It’s not pretending something isn’t hard or acting like things don’t hurt. Faith is being honest about what you see and feel, while choosing to speak what God says instead.

There’s a big difference between denial and truth. Denial ignores. Faith acknowledges but overrides. It says, “Yes, this is what I see—but here’s what I know because of who God is.”

I’ve had to live this.

After my eviction, I had to speak by faith. I had to remind myself that I wasn’t abandoned, I was being repositioned. That I wasn’t cursed, I was being refined. And that God hadn’t failed me—He was proving that He could be trusted, even when the provision didn’t look the way I expected.

Every time I opened my mouth to declare God’s goodness, it wasn’t because the circumstances were good. It was because I had made up my mind: God is still who He says He is.

I had moments where I cried. I had to confess my confusion and disappointment. But I didn’t waver in who I believed God to be. I chose to anchor myself in the truth that His Word has first place and final authority in my life.

So I worshiped through the questions.
I spoke life into what looked lifeless.
I reminded myself—daily—of His promises, even when I couldn’t see the outcome.

That’s what faith does. It doesn’t pretend the fire isn’t hot. It walks through the fire holding on to the One who promised to be with us in it. Faith isn’t about covering up pain with Christian clichés—it’s about confronting pain with God’s truth and trusting that His Word will prevail.

And here’s something else that doesn’t get talked about enough:
There are consequences to walking by faith—but those consequences belong to God.

When you step out in obedience, when you take God at His Word, you’re entrusting Him not just with the outcome, but with everything in between. That can feel foreign—especially in a world that teaches us to control, calculate, and carry everything ourselves. Sometimes, walking by faith almost feels like we’re being irresponsible. Like we’re avoiding our problems or shirking our duties. But that’s not what faith is.

Faith doesn’t mean ignoring reality. It means facing reality—and choosing to trust God with it all. It’s not avoidance. It’s surrender. It’s saying, “God, I will do what You’ve asked me to do—and I trust You to cover what I can’t.” It requires wisdom, obedience, and yes, risk. But when God is the one who gave the instruction, the responsibility for the results is on Him. And He’s never failed to come through on what He’s authored.

This is why it’s so important to stay grounded in truth, to keep walking in humility, and to remain sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Because walking by faith may cost you something—but the price has been been paid. 

Fighting the Good Fight of Faith

And it’s also why we have to stay spiritually alert. Because as we surrender, trust, and obey, the enemy doesn’t just step aside—he pushes back.

Faith speaks and acts on what God says—not what the enemy is trying to convince you of. It doesn’t lie—it aligns. It agrees with heaven, not with fear. And that kind of alignment changes everything.

But let’s be clear: choosing to speak and act on truth when everything around you contradicts it doesn’t come without resistance. The moment you begin to truly live by faith, you step onto a battlefield. The enemy isn’t threatened by silence—he’s threatened by faith in motion. And he will do everything he can to shut it down.

Every day presents us with a choice:
Will we speak life or death?
Will we be led by faith or ruled by fear?

Faith pulls from the realm of the Spirit to manifest God’s promises. Fear, by contrast, pulls from the lies of the enemy and manifests destruction. Just as faith is the substance of what we hope for, fear is the substance of what we dread.
One builds.
The other destroys.
One aligns with God.
The other empowers the enemy.

We walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7), but we also have to recognize that our faith will come under attack. The enemy doesn’t just sit back and watch while we believe God, speak His promises, and trust Him for the impossible. He plants doubt, stirs up fear, twists truth, wears us down, and tempts us to give up before we see the breakthrough. That’s why Paul didn’t just talk about faith—he charged Timothy to fight the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12). Because faith isn’t passive. It’s war. And every day, we have to choose whose voice we’re going to agree with—God’s or the enemy’s.

This fight is won one decision, one moment, one thought at a time.

Right now, I’m in that fight. I’m still waiting on God to move in my business. It’s been over two years since He gave me the vision—one I know is meant to reach and serve the masses—and yet, I haven’t seen the breakthrough or, for that matter, much progress. I ask, seek, and knock, but haven’t seen the doors answered or opened. And the enemy doesn’t miss a beat: “It’s not working. You heard Him wrong. The Hand of God is not on you. Get a job and stop trying.” 

But here’s how I fight back:
I choose to believe what God said.
I choose to keep building, even when I don’t see results.
I choose to speak His Word over my business and my life.
I choose to worship, to serve, to stay faithful with what’s in front of me.
I remind myself that obedience is success—and that breakthrough belongs to God, not me.

Fighting the good fight of faith doesn’t always look dramatic. Sometimes it looks like standing firm in the quiet. Sometimes it looks like not quitting. Sometimes it looks like saying “yes” again when everything in you wants to walk away. It looks like showing love and compassion to the people who care about you—even when they think they’re helping, but are unknowingly asking you to turn your back on what God has said. It’s choosing to trust God’s timing, His ways, and His faithfulness over your own understanding and expectations.

Because the reward isn’t just what we’re believing for. The reward is who we become in the process of trusting God completely. The reward is living like Jesus—doing only what the Father says. And there’s nothing more powerful than that. Because when we live that way, we’ll not only walk as Jesus walked—we’ll do what He did, and even greater works, just like He promised.

Keep the Faith

Faith isn’t a one-time decision. It’s a way of life. It’s how we please God, how we walk in His promises, how we overcome the enemy, and how we stay anchored when the storms come.

If you’re in a fight right now—if you’re believing for something you haven’t seen, trusting God in a situation that doesn’t make sense, or walking in obedience when the outcome is unclear—know this: you’re not alone. You’re not crazy. You’re not weak. You’re walking by faith.

And heaven sees it. God is moved by it. And in His perfect time, He will reward it.

So keep building.
Keep praying and worshiping.
Keep standing.
Keep obeying.
Keep trusting.

Feed your faith by staying in the Word. Strengthen it through obedience. Guard it through prayer. And activate it by doing what God says—even when it stretches you, costs you, or makes you look foolish to the world.

Because faith is how we access everything God has made available to us.
It’s how we partner with Him.
It’s how we become who He created us to be.

So don’t settle for a faith that stays quiet or stagnant. Go deeper. Live boldly. Speak truth. Walk it out. Because the just don’t just believe by faith—they live by it.