Faith is necessary to be pleasing to God. "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him" (Heb 11:6).
Faith comes by studying the word of God, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Rom 10:17). Some misunderstand faith; they think that faith amounts only to believing in God. While this is a part of faith, there is more involved.
Abraham was a great man of faith, the scriptures recorded, "…Abraham believed God…." He did as God commanded. When he was told to leave his father, he went. When he was told to offer his son Isaac on Mt. Moriah, the Bible records how Abraham responded to God’s command. "And Abraham rose early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him" (Gen.22: 3). He had faith that God would take care of his son.
The writer of Hebrews said of Abraham, "By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son. Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure" (Heb. 11:17—19). This is the kind of faith man must develop.
Life can be easier to live if one develops a strong faith in God. The world worries itself into frenzy over different things. Some worry about money, to the point that it becomes the focal point of their life. They will do whatever is necessary to gain their "fortune." The Bible talks about this problem. "For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows" (I Tim. 6:10).
The quest for riches can cause one to leave God out of their life completely, thinking they are the one who is doing everything. They forget that God is the one that enables man to have the health and mind to go about day to day life.
The heart must be Christ-centered for one to know complete trust in God. If one persists in trusting in the riches of this life rather than God, he will find himself with nothing on the day of judgement. Man has to learn that this life is but for a time, and God is for eternity.
Generations have been reared to believe that man has all the answers. This false idea makes it difficult for religious teaching to be accepted. Thousands, even millions search for peace and happiness by their own means, not realizing that only in Christ is true peace and happiness to be found.
Jeremiah wrote these words, "O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps" (Jer. 10:23). If man trusts only in his steps how will he be guided, there will be no moral or ethical direction for him to follow. As in the days of the Judges "…every man will do what is right in his own eyes" (Judg. 21:25).
Mankind must learn to trust in God and his promises.