The Christian walk is such that is guided on all sides by FAITH. In the first place, it’s
important to understand and grasp it very quickly that there is no Christianity without
faith. Faith is what substantiates our beliefs as God’s children. Faith is that very strong
assurance of what it is that we hold on to. It is unwavering and unshaken.
Perhaps I could throw a bit of light on this with the analogy painted in Psalms 1:3. A tree
planted by the waterside is assumed to be deeply rooted where it is planted. Other than
that, come rain, come shine, it doesn’t move an inch, it is rooted. It has no choice
whatsoever to consider leaving that spot. Faith is being embedded in a belief, such that
when the condition is looking right or not, it still stands and stands strong.
It is also important to understand that the absence of faith (lack of faith) only exhibits the
flip side of faith and it is called doubt or unbelief. It was made clear in the scripture that
a person who is double-minded or a person that lacks faith cannot receive anything
from God. Simply put and succinctly explained, God hates unbelief. The bible even went
further to say; “…without faith it is impossible to please God” -Hebrews 11:6.
Furthermore, Faith is much more than a strong belief. I actually like to think of it as the
essence of everything and everything else that borders around our lives, existence, and
being. No one Christian can move forward without faith. I would like to liken faith to the
tires of a car, without which it cannot move, but again, it is way more than that. I could
also liken it to the engine of the car, but to be quite frank, it is that and many more. I will
just generally say faith is the entirety of the car. Faith touches on just about anything
that is life. Now, without faith, how can life be? Faith and life are intertwined! Having set
this tone, Faith becomes a must have for any serious bonafide child of God. It is highly
crucial, In fact, without it, Christianity would be a fallacy.
This brings me to the core of this discourse. Christianity as many folks think is not a
guaranteed smooth sailing life. Does this startle you? Well the truth is that being a
Christian does not automatically mean that our lives will instantaneously switch from
being tumultuous to be rosy. This eventually happens, but it will take one to travel
down a path to reach this most desired point. Many have converted to Christianity,
expecting that instant magical transformation and because it isn’t happening, they
quickly revert to their old ways of living. This is quite sad as such people do not quite
understand what faith walk is all about.
I do not imply that life as a Christian does not guarantee all that we ever wanted, No!
However, to reach where we really want to get and especially where God had originally
designed for us, we’d need to work it out. Upon becoming a Christian, we have all the
necessary tools and arsenals to push us further into the abundant life and this tool is
FAITH. Again, God isn’t in the business of doing magic. He has given to you the powers
to make things happen, and those things will not happen if the Faith He gave to you isn’t
well deployed. You see, our lives are in the hands of God but we have been authorized

by Him to exercise our faith at will and make things happen until we attain that level and
that place where He Himself has carved for us.
As mentioned earlier, the pathway of every Christian is quite bumpy, however, our faith
is meant to carry us through. Now, that depends on how strong your faith is. If you study
the book of Acts of the Apostles, which chronicles the lives and times of Christ’s
disciples and early Christians, you would agree with me that their exemplary lives were
indeed filled with much troubles and persecution. Now, you and I may not be going
through such horrific kind of persecution, but believe me, there are still Christians
around the world experiencing it as bad as was recorded of the early Christians. Some
are maimed for their faith and some even killed simply because they fail to renounce
their Christian faith.
How then can a Christian live through such horrendous times and situations? First, let us
look at this scripture “I have told you these things so that in me you will have
peace. In the world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the
world”- John 16:33. It is important to note that everything happening on the outside
may look troubling, Christ Himself guarantees that long as we are deeply rooted in Him;
in other words, if our faith is deeply planted in him, we are safe. A tree deeply rooted will
remain immovable even when the howling storm blows at its hardest. Notice the words
of Christ in the above scripture? He says “Take heart” That phrase means to have
nothing but courage!
Each time we are faced with persecution; whether life threatening or not, we are
expected to exhibit some healthy amount of courage. In fact, faith in itself is courage!
When someone walks up to you to tell you it is over and there seems to be no hope for
you in certain areas of your life, or when someone decides to pull the plug of support
from your life, you must remain courageous and stand your ground. It looks scary and
discouraging when such news comes, but I tell you, this is how you can ‘take heart’.
You may feel disappointed and down, but don’t get suicidal or depressed. Why?
Because God has got you covered. All you need do is pick yourself up and forge a new
way ahead with the involvement of God of course.
Keep trusting and believing against all odds that God is there with you and for you. Let
your faith be strong. The enemy wants nothing more than to batter your faith and
eventually kill it. Once faith is attacked and punctured, there will be nothing left to hold
on to and so, the only way to go will be downward! While we are living our lives, it is
critical to nourish our faith through hearing the word of God and meditating on it every
time. Sharpen your spirit by communing daily with God and sensitize your spirit by
speaking in tongues as often as you can. These are ways your faith muscle can be built,
so when trials and persecution come, you would be ready to withstand the heat.
You cannot afford to play around with your faith. It is what holds you as a Christian. God
is looking forward to having you live a highly fulfilled life in Him. Indeed He has given
you all things freely to enjoy, but you must unlock them all with your faith, bearing in

mind that your journey down to where you have to unlock all that God gave you is
nothing but rough. God has given you a way out, deploy your full FAITH.