Faith and firmness
“If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.”
Isaiah 7:9
One of the worst experiences in life is the feeling of wavering. And it seems the burn of that experience is always connected to value of the thing held. Say, for example, you find yourself wavering on which detergent cleans best, or which shirt looks best. If you doubt your opinion you will not likely be burdened. If the stakes are raised, however, the burden will increase. A house is more important than detergent, a job more than a house, and a spouse more than a job. Each time the stakes are raised we naturally feel the pressure of wavering increase. Now the pinnacle of this experience is our belief in God. Above all else, wavering faith produces the greatest angst. And so it should be. We may get other things wrong and experience temporal consequences, but incorrect belief in God brings lasting effects.
Faith as the foundation of firmness
The teaching of Christianity on this point has always centered on faith. Firmness, or steadfastness, is always linked to faith in God. The events recorded in Isaiah 7 illustrate this connection. Ahaz, the less than stellar king of Judah, was facing an attack from the combined forces of Syria and Ephraim. When Ahaz initially heard news of the planned attack he and all Judah had hearts that “shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind” (Isa. 7:2). Graciously, God sent an encouraging word to his people through the prophet Isaiah. In short, God said the planned attack would fail, and both nations would be brought to nothing within a short period of time. At the end of this word we see our connection. “If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.” The firmness, literally firm establishment, of Ahaz and his people was linked to their faith. Without faith they would not believe the word from God and would continue to shake like the trees. Their peace and security centered on the firmness of their faith.
How faith produces firmness
The wrong idea to draw from this text is that faith itself is our source of confidence. Faith is a real, objective belief and confidence, but it is an objective belief and confidence in something. Don’t miss the connection in Isaiah 7. First, the word of the Lord came, then the challenge to have faith. Faith, namely in the promise and the God who could bring the promise about. That is the point we need to see in order to understand how faith produces firmness. Faith in and of itself lacks the ability to bring stability. It must be faith in something or someone who is a source of firmness–namely God. And that is what Christianity has always taught. “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe” (Pro. 18:10). It is our faith that unites us to the work of Christ; thus freeing us from the bondage of sin and removing our spirit of fear (2Ti. 1:7). And when we are united to Christ we are made firm by the abounding grace of God. If you are not firm in faith, you will be firm in nothing. Not your job, your spouse, or your God. A quick ‘how to’ is needed here. How are we to increase our faith? Paul’s answer in 2 Timothy 2:15 is Scripture. Paul tells us the sacred writings are able to make us wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. It seems the plan of God is to use his word to instill in his people a great unquenchable faith. And so we confess our faith deficiency (“I believe; help my unbelief” Mark 9:24) and prayerfully seek God in his word. We will not have faith in God if we do not know God. And apart from prayer and Scripture we will not know God. O, that God would inflame our hearts with a longing for his word that we might know and love him for who he is.
