Faith has spiritual impact in our lives

When you’re struggling unsuccessfully with a problem in your life, maybe it’s because you’re trying to handle it all on your own. Asking friends and family members for help might provide a temporary solution for a while. But, no matter how strong or able-bodied you may be, sometimes life can be overwhelming. Having faith can make the difference between success and failure, but many of us don’t understand the spiritual impact faith has on our lives.
The world can talk about having faith in yourself, faith in others, or faith in some sort of earthly doctrine. But faith in the Biblical sense connects us to God and His tremendous power to help us right at our point of need. True faith compels us to take a course of action, with no solid proof, visible to our own senses, that our desired outcome even exists. Exhibiting this kind of faith releases God’s power to intervene.
A number of stories in the Bible illustrate how faith produced results in people’s lives. One example describes that while Jesus was speaking to a crowd of followers someone suffering from health problems approached Him for help. “Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. She said to herself, ‘If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.’ Jesus turned and saw her. ‘Take heart, daughter,’ he said, ‘your faith has healed you.’ And the woman was healed at that moment,” (Matthew 9: 20-22, NIV).
The woman may not have spoken a single word, but her actions demonstrated her great faith in Jesus’ healing powers. She didn’t doubt or question whether He was willing or able to heal her–she simply took action. Grace combined with faith released His power, but she didn’t stop to try and reason out how they both fit together in the equation. She simply believed, and received healing.
You may have heard some people say they have faith they’ll win the lottery someday, get that big promotion, or find the money to buy that fancy car or expensive house they’ve been wanting. But the Scriptures tell us to fix our thoughts and desires on what God’s will is for us, not what we want for ourselves. “Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh” (Romans 13:14, NIV). Focusing on His Word takes us out of the flesh and into the spirit.
Whatever we give our attention to is what will shape our desires. Being aware of what we’re thinking about, and actively rejecting any evil or ungodly thoughts, renews our minds. God has already made grace available to everyone, but actively responding to that grace unleashes it. Our part in the process is to believe we’ve already received God’s promises of grace, and then act accordingly.
Now, it’s one thing to think something with your intellectual mind, and something completely different to let it sink into your heart. Planting a seed of faith in your mind is a start, but feeding and watering it with the Word of God lets it take root and grow, producing the fruit of the Spirit.  When it moves from your head into your heart and moves you to action, true faith is born.