As parents, we never want to see our children go through tough times.

I have one child that is trying to get a new job, but so far no positions have opened up. The other day, she was sharing her frustration with me and I found myself saying, “Hang in there and have a little faith.”

You hear that phrase quite often in life, but what is faith? Is it a thing or an act? Well, I consider it to be both.

The definition of faith is a strong belief or conviction.

Hebrews 11:1-3 describes faith as follows, “Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen. For our ancestors won God’s approval by it. By faith we understand that the universe was created by God’s command, so that what is seen has been made from things that are not visible.”

This is not a definition of faith, but rather a description of what faith does. It is the proof of what we can’t see but know to be true in our hearts.

Faith gives us the ability to treat what we “know” as a reality and proves that what is unseen is real.

Bryan J. Whitfield of workingpreacher.com, says there are two dimensions to faith. First, faith provides a guarantee for believers that their hope of eternal life is no flimsy dream.

Second, it moves us forward toward the future and gives us the courage to get there.

By telling my child to have “faith,” I was assuring her that God wants what is best for her, and when the time is right, her opportunity will come.

Believing that will give her the hope and courage to look ahead instead of dwelling on her present situation.

Everyone needs hope in life. Just like Abraham and Sarah, we need faith so that we can step out into the unknown journey that is life. They had no guarantees and it was their faith that kept them from turning back.

We don’t possess God’s ability to see what is coming, but we all have the ability to trust God to provide us with what we need.

God doesn’t say that having faith will bring us great riches. We all would like that but we don’t “need” that. What we need is enough to eat, clothes to wear and a shelter.

We also need to love and be loved by our Creator. Faith provides those things and propels us forward to help others have what we have.

Faith is more than just belief, it is complete trust in God and the willingness to act on your beliefs. Explaining your beliefs to others will help you deepen your convictions while giving the good news to someone else.

We are all on a journey with God. We can’t see the end but we can trust that through our faith we will see our salvation and spend eternity with God.

To start, just take a step of faith.