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” (Hebrews 11:6).

God’s word tells how to get faith. “So then, faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). Some people have misunderstandings about faith; they think that faith amounts only to believing in God.

While this is a necessary part of faith, there is more involved. Abraham was a great man of faith; notice what was said of him: “… Abraham believed God … .” He did as God commanded. When he was told to leave the people of his father, he went. When he was told to offer Isaac on Mount Moriah, the Bible says, “And Abraham rose up 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” (Genesis 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” (Hebrews 11:17-19). This is the kind of faith that one must have. This faith is so strong that one truly trusts in God.

When one learns to trust in God, this life is easier to live. The world worries itself into frenzy over many different things. Some worry about money to the point that it becomes the focal point of their lives. They will do whatever is necessary to gain their “fortunes.” The Bible has much to say 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” (1 Timothy 6:10). This quest for riches can cause people to leave God out of their lives completely, thinking they are the ones who are doing everything. Well might they remember the parable of the foolish rich man found in Luke 12:13-21. God is the One who enables men to have the health and mind to go about their day-to-day lives.

The heart must be Christ-centered. If people persist in trusting in the riches of this life rather than Christ, they will find themselves with nothing on the Day of Judgment. “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26).

When people place more trust in man and physical things than in God, they are headed for disappointment. Trust in God leads to joy and happiness in this life and a home with God in eternity.