Based on what we see and hear at our counseling table, it seems that many Bible-reading, church-going people do not really live by faith. Yes, they clearly believe IN Christ; but their habitual behavior reveals that they do not live by faith in Emmanuel, the Christ who is present with them.

One who genuinely believes they are living life in the very presence of God will adjust their behavior accordingly.

The flip side of that truth is that person who repeatedly gives way to behavior that is not Christlike, particularly in a marriage, is revealing that one of two things is going on: either they have no faith that God is with them, and is a personal witness to their behavior; or they DO know it, and have no fear of God. Either one is the equivalent of not living by faith. For God does say he is present with us, and he even knows our thoughts.

God does not ask us to earn His presence; it is a gift of the new covenant in Christ. But he does ask us to live worthy of this awesome gift. Living worthy is not about being perfect, it is about living like you really believe it, and adjusting yourself accordingly. To really live by faith is to adjust your behavior and your very thoughts to what is pleasing to Emmanuel, God With You.

You didn’t earn God’s choice to live with you, and you can’t make Him go away. If you sin, you sin in His presence. If you give yourself permission to keep doing what you do, then you are living as those who love themselves (and their choices) more than they love him.

When God addressed David’s sin of adultery with Bathsheba, he described it this way: “You despised me.” (2 Samuel 12) In other words, he made it most personal! It wasn’t just that David sinned; he behaved in a way that said to God, “I don’t love you; you don’t matter to me.”

I point this out to encourage you: please use your faith to live a life worthy of God’s love and presence. His presence is the gift of himself to you. Please love him with your choices and your very thoughts.

Then it can be said that you are a person who truly lives by faith.