Fierce Faith

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Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith [and confident trust in My power] has made you well.”

Mark 10:52a AMP

Sitting here in my front room on a Saturday night, at the century-old table currently serving as my desk, I’m thinking about faith, and have been for the last few weeks. I’ve wondered why I haven’t been able to get words on a page when it comes to this topic. There are so many ways to go, so many things we could talk about, and I’ve found my own faith challenged by the enormity of something called “Fierce Faith.”

Fierce Faith is about absolute confidence in God’s promises, even when evidence is nowhere to be found. It’s about acting on unseen truths and obeying God regardless of personal cost. Fierce Faith allows heroes to endure persecution, perform miracles, and trust God’s promises even unto death.

Like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego…

Google AI defines it this way: “Fierce Faith is an intense, unwavering, and active trust in God, characterized by boldness and determination, especially when facing adversity or doubt. It transcends passive belief to become a proactive, passionate, and resilient lifestyle that relies on spiritual strength rather than fear.”

Through this kind of faith, it was God’s own heroes who “conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.”

In verses 37 and 38, Hebrews 11 goes on to say, “There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them.”

Wow.

And here I sit in my safe middle-class home thinking that’s a pretty high bar that I personally, honestly, have zero hope of reaching when I examine my life. I mean, I have faith. Sometimes I have strong faith that feels like storming a mountain and taking down the enemy with my bare hands, in Jesus’ name! But other times, my faith squeaks like a mouse and hides under the covers until the coast is clear.

What’s that about?

For it is [not your strength, but it is] God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work [that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose] for His good pleasure.

Philippians 2:13 AMP

You might have heard it said, “Faith is not a feeling,” and that is true. If it were a feeling, we all would have been lost to the Lord a long time ago. Our feelings are finite, but faith is eternal. Our human feelings are fickle and needy and utterly unreliable when it comes to the things of God. But faith? Faith is the substance… the evidence… of a world that exists so much higher and farther beyond ourselves than we can begin to imagine. And yet, still walks beside us as an intimate friend, faithful and true.

You see, faith does not originate in us, it’s a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8-9). It didn’t come into existence in our lives by itself or by the force of our own will. We were dead in our trespasses when God made us alive together with Christ (Ephesians 2:5). We couldn’t have been the originator of our own faith when we were spiritually dead. No, the Bible says that faith comes from hearing the message about Christ (Romans 10:17), for He is the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). He gives to each of us “a measure of faith” for humble service (Romans 12:3).

We can take hold of it, which is right. We can activate it, as we should. We can do things on purpose to keep our faith awake and make the fire of our faith grow, as the Word of God instructs… but the first spark of faith did not come from us, it came from Him.

Then He said to her, “Daughter, your faith [your personal trust and confidence in Me] has restored you to health; go in peace and be [permanently] healed from your suffering.”

Mark 5:34 AMP

These are the things we can remember when our faith feels small. The power of faith is not about how we feel or how strong we are. If we look deeper into the stories of the Hebrews 11 heroes of faith, we’ll see their humanity on full display time and time again. Gideon, David, Sampson, Abraham and Sarah, Noah, Moses, and Jacob. If we know their stories, we’ll remember that God’s Word tells us plainly about their successes and their many failures… and yet, they are still counted as heroes in the Hall of Faith.

Each one, even in the midst of the most unlikely circumstances, believed God and followed Him, despite their human weakness and imperfection. When they fell down, they got back up… every time… and that’s how they overcame in the face of adversity. Simple trust in the God who brings the dead back to life and creates new things out of nothing (Romans 4:17).

That’s Fierce Faith.

So that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

1 Corinthians 2:5 ESV

This is how we “build ourselves up in our most holy faith” (Jude 1:20-23):

• We immerse ourselves in the Word of God, knowing that faith comes by hearing the message about Christ.
• We pray by the leading of the Holy Spirit, consistently seeking to align ourselves with God’s purpose.
• We put our faith into action through obedience, serving others, and sharing God’s love in daily life.
• We keep ourselves in the love of God, practicing repentance and the mercy of God, always looking forward to the hope of eternal life.

It’s our spiritual pursuits that determine the level of our faith. It’s our simple, everyday trust in God that aligns our faith with His power.

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This life is training and testing ground for what comes next. Our real lives… our true sight and senses and purpose… begin when we have walked with Christ on this side of the veil, and then in His proper timing, we step out of this dimly lit life and into the full and gleaming presence of the Living God. If we endure, we will reign with Him; if we deny Him, He will deny us (2 Timothy 2:12).

This is why we need fierce faith. Even with our spiritual eyes fully awake, we can only see through flesh and thick glass on this side of heaven. It takes faith to please God because, compared to Him and His vision for our lives, even the strongest of us are still just stumbling around in the dark. The only way we can ever come close to seeing Christ face-to-face in this life… and in the next… is through persistent, enduring faith.

He is our only light in the darkness.

For everyone born of God is victorious and overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has conquered and overcome the world—our [continuing, persistent] faith [in Jesus the Son of God].

1 John 5:4 AMP