Homilies
What is Faith?
Holy spirit take my words and speak to each of us according to our need.
"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."
This verse is one of the most quoted definitions of faith in all of Scripture. It sits at the beginning of what we often call the "Hall of Faith" a chapter that recounts the lives of men and women who lived by trust in God, not by what they could see, but by what they believed.
But what does it really mean to say that faith is assurance and conviction particularly when it's about hope and the unseen? And how does this apply to us today, in a world that increasingly prizes visibility, verification, and proof?
Let us explore together what this verse can tell us about both its promise and its challenge. What Is Faith?
"Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."
It doesn't say faith is a wish or a feeling. Faith is not vague optimism. It's not passive belief. It is assurance a word that implies certainty, security, and confidence. It is conviction not a hunch, but a firmly held belief, so deep that it compels action.
Faith, then, is trust in the trustworthiness of God. It's knowing that what God promises, He will do, even when we can't fully understand or see it yet.
We live in an age of science, of instant information, of cameras on every street, and satellites orbiting the earth. We are conditioned to believe only what can be measured, tested, proven, or photographed. But the greatest truths of life are not always the things that we can see. Sometimes, things can only be know by being able to experience their effects. For example, we cannot see the air we breathe but know it is there as we survive. We cannot see the wind but we can see the trees and flowers sway.
We cannot see love, but we know it by its fruit.
We cannot see hope, but we feel it lift our spirits.
We cannot see the future, yet we plan, prepare, and live toward it.
And in the same way, we cannot see God, but by faith, we know Him, we follow Him, and we trust Him.
The relevance of this kind of faith in today’s world is precisely in its resistance to the rule of visibility. Faith reminds us that the deepest realities are not the ones we can touch, but the ones that touch us. But what happens if we don't have faith?
What happens when people live without assurance of hope, and without conviction about the unseen? The world around us is beginning to demonstrate that. A life without faith is a life of:
• Uncertainty – because nothing is secure.
• Fear – because the unknown is threatening.
• Despair – because without hope, the future is dark.
• Self-reliance – which quickly collapses when our strength fails.
We see this in our society: anxiety epidemics, meaninglessness, consumerism, addiction to entertainment; all symptoms of people desperately trying to fill the hole that faith in God could fill. Without faith, people seek happiness and assurances in false certainties: in money, technology, fame, or power. But all these eventually crumble or are replaced with the next current trend.
As the Psalmist says in Psalm 20:7, "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God."
Without faith, we are like a ship without an anchor. Drifting and aimless.
How Can We Have Conviction in Things Not Seen?
This is perhaps the most honest question. How can we, a modern people, believe in something or Someone we cannot see?
The answer begins with relationship.
Just as we trust a loved one even when we can’t see them because of the history we share so we can trust God because of how He has revealed Himself through His creation and providence. He has spoken in Scripture. He has acted in history. He has come to us in Jesus Christ.
We do not see Him with physical eyes, but we see the evidence of His hand:
• In creation’s beauty and order.
• In the lives transformed by grace.
• In the Spirit’s work in our hearts.
• In the story of redemption stretching from Abraham to Christ to today.
Faith is a gift of God. It grows as we use it. It is not generated by sheer willpower, but by abiding in Christ, feeding on His Word, and walking in His ways. The more we walk with Him, the more our conviction grows, even in the unseen.
As Jesus said to Thomas in John 20:29, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” But what Happens to Faith If Proof Is Presented?
This is a provocative question: if God were to reveal Himself so clearly by perhaps writing His name in the sky, would that be better for faith?
At first glance, we might say yes. But Scripture and history suggest otherwise.
The Israelites saw the Red Sea parted and still doubted. The disciples saw miracles and still fled in fear. Miracles do not seem to guarantee faith.
In fact, too much proof can erode trust and relationship. Faith is not the same as knowledge. Faith is trust in a person. If all mystery were removed, there would be no room for love freely given, only obligation.
God gave us free will to choose to seek Him. He doesn’t desire robots who respond to certainty, but children who trust their Father even in the dark.
Because of this, Faith, then, is not opposed to evidence, but it goes beyond it. Based on relationship, character, trust, and promise.
Faith matters in our everyday lives. Perhaps we or people we know are:
• Waiting for healing.
• Praying for a wayward child.
• Facing financial strain.
• Struggling with depression or grief.
• Watching the news and wondering where God is.
In all these, faith says: “God is with me, even when I cannot see the outcome.”
Faith holds on to hope, even in sorrow. Faith acts, even when the road is not fully visible. Like Abraham, we step out, "not knowing where we are going," but trusting the One who leads.
As Romans 8:24-25 says, “Hope that is seen is not hope... But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”
At times our faith can waiver and feel weak in the face of adversities but we should not despair. The mustard seed is only small, but it grows to enormous size.
Ask in prayer, like the man in Mark 9:24, “I believe; help my unbelief!”
And keep looking to Jesus, “the pioneer and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). He is the anchor for our soul, sure and steadfast.
Faith is not a crutch for the weak. It abounds through times of struggle and prosperity alike. It is the lifeline of the strong. Those who know they cannot go through life in their strength and acknowledge their need of help. It is assurance in a world of uncertainty. Trends may come and go but God is eternal and changeless. It is hope in a world that often seems hopeless. Therefore, let us be people of faith; grounded not in what we see, but in Whom we believe.
Let us pray:
Heavenly Father,
We thank You for the gift of faith
the assurance of things hoped for,
the conviction of things not seen.
When our sight is dim and the path uncertain,
remind us of Your promises.
When doubts arise, strengthen our trust.
When fear whispers, help us to stand firm.
Teach us to walk by faith and not by sight.
Grow in us a deep conviction of Your goodness,
even when the world around us shakes.
May we be a people marked by hope,
by steadfast trust, and by joyful obedience.
And when we cannot see, Lord,
help us to believe. Amen.