The 3-step faith process

Let's follow the 3-steps of living by faith that men and women of God in the Bible followed. Let's tune into what God releases for us in the spiritual realm in every circumstance. Let's take hold of it by faith and declare it through our mouth and carry out the acts of faith.

KC George

March 23, 2025

Table of Contents

God expects us to live our lives by faith and not by sight. To live a life pleasing to God, we must live by faith because without faith, it's impossible to please God. Apostle Paul wrote “we live by faith, not by sight” in 2 Corinthians 5:7. Let's look at what it means to live by faith and how it differs from living by sight. Men and women of faith in the Bible progressed through a simple 3 step process when they lived by faith. When we live by faith, we too go through the same 3 step process.

Release: God releases his plan for us in the spiritual realm

Receive: We see it with our spiritual eyes or sense it in our spirit and take hold of it by faith

Realize: We confess it with our mouth or carry out an act of faith and the power of God gets released through our words/action and the plan of God gets realized on earth

Living by sight is the opposite of living by faith. When we live by sight, we experience a different process.

Release: God releases his plan for us in the spiritual realm

Preoccupy: We are so preoccupied by our circumstance in the physical realm that we do not see or take hold of the plan by faith

Miss: We miss the plan of God

Those of us who live by sight are restricted by what we can achieve within human capability. When we live by faith, we can achieve extraordinary things for God. Those who live by faith carry out their routine day to day activities also by faith. Let's dive into 3 biblical narratives and observe how men of God went through the 3 step process when they lived by faith. Then let's examine examples of 3 extraordinary things and 3 ordinary things accomplished through faith which the apostle Paul describes in Hebrews 11. Finally, we will see how faith and imagination differ

David facing the giant

David went to the Valley of Elah, where his three brothers joined with King Saul in a fight against the Philistines. Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted “This day I defy the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other”. As he heard Goliath’s challenge, faith was aroused in his heart and he thought to himself “Who is this Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” As he was already trained to live by faith, David saw in the spiritual realm that the Lord had delivered Goliath into his hands and he would cut off Goliath’s head. He also saw in his spirit the birds and the wild animals eating the carcasses of the Philistine army.

Having received God's promise, David marched towards Goliath, declaring out loud his faith “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”

Power of God came upon David as he declared the words of faith and the teenage boy was anointed for the task at hand. As David took out a stone, slung it and struck Goliath on the forehead, the power of God was released through the stone. The stone sank into his forehead, and Goliath fell facedown on the ground. Even though David had no natural ability to fight Goliath, through faith, he could release the power of God to overpower the giant.

What could have happened if the shepherd boy could not act by faith? The nation of Israel would have gone into captivity of the Philistine kingdom. David would have never become the king of Israel and the history of the nation of Israel would have been significantly different. Young David turned around the history of the nation of Israel through his act of faith.

Jesus facing the storm

One day Lord Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and started out. As they sailed across, Jesus settled down for a nap. But soon a fierce storm came down on the lake. The boat was filling with water, and they were in real danger.

The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Master, master, we’re going to drown!” As soon as Jesus woke up, he saw in his spirit that God the Father rebuked the wind and the waves and it calmed down. He immediately received what he saw in the spiritual realm and confessed it with his mouth. As he rebuked the wind and the raging waves, the power of God was released through his words and immediately the storm stopped and all was calm.

What if Lord Jesus did not join with the disciples in the boat and they were left alone to live by sight? What would have happened? All the disciples in the boat would have drowned in the lake, most of them would have died and maybe one or two might have survived. Church history would have taken a turn without the founding apostles. The act of faith of calming the storm and the wind by Lord Jesus rewrote the history of the church

Peter and John at the temple

Apostles Peter and John went to the Jerusalem temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service. As they approached the temple, a lame man was being carried in. As they approached the temple, in their spirit, Peter and John saw Lord Jesus healing him and him walking and leaping in joy. As they saw it, they received the miracle by faith.

As Peter and John were about to enter the temple, the man asked them for money. Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter declared his faith by saying, “I don’t have any silver or gold. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!” The power of God was released through Peter's confession of faith and the crippled man was instantly healed. The man didn't respond to Peter’s exhortation. Having received the assurance of the miracle by faith, Peter knew in his spirit that the man was already healed. He then took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up and the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened. He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the temple with them.

What would have happened if apostle Peter and John were living by sight and they could not act by faith? The crippled man would have continued to live crippled all his life and died crippled. This man’s biography was rewritten by the act of faith by these two men.

Accomplish the extraordinary

God accomplishes extraordinary things on earth through men and women of faith. Until God finds such a man, he is powerless to fulfil his plans on earth. Let's look at a few examples of extraordinary things God accomplished through men and women of faith mentioned in Hebrews 11

It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. In those days when rain was not yet known and boats floating on water was not yet experienced on earth, God shared his plan with Noah and he wholeheartedly received it in faith. He acted on his faith by building the boat just like God commanded him. Noah couldn't have built the boat by sight because the world was yet to discover the naval architecture and marine engineering technology required to build a boat that could house thousands of animals, birds and food supplies for all of them for 150 days.

It was by faith that Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed that God would keep his promise. Even though Sarah laughed when she first heard the promise of a son, later she took hold of the promise by faith. After experiencing infertility for 90 years, Sarah couldn't have believed the promise if she lived by sight. Through her extraordinary faith, God brought forth the nation of Israel.

It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. God had told him that Isaac is the son through whom his descendants will be counted. Abraham saw in his spirit that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. In those days when no human was ever brought back to life from the dead, Abraham couldn't have believed it if he lived by sight. He believed the impossible by faith and in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead

Day-to-day acts of faith

When we live by faith, we not only accomplish extraordinary things for God through our faith, we also obey God in the day-to-day affairs of life through faith. Let's look at some examples described in Hebrews 11

It was by faith that Isaac promised blessings for the future to his sons, Jacob and Esau. Isaac looked into the spiritual realm and he declared by faith everything God showed him for Jacob and Esau. Through his act of faith, the plans of God for his two sons were released on earth

It was by faith that Moses’ parents hid him for three months when he was born. They saw that God had given them an unusual child, and they were not afraid to disobey the king’s command. Their act of faith saved the life of the greatest prophet in the history of Israel

It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. This simple act of faith eventually led Moses to leave Egypt and embrace the plans of God for him

Faith differs from imagination

While we attempt to live by faith, it's important to ensure that we do not live by our imagination. It's important to distinguish the two because faith differs significantly from imagination. Let's examine the differences between faith and imagination

Faith is God centric whereas imagination is man centric

Faith originates from God and is revealed to us in our spirit whereas imagination originates in our soul and we see it with our imagination faculty

Living by faith accomplishes the plan of God on earth while imagination fulfills our desires

God intervenes into our lives through faith and hence there could be an element of surprise when we first encounter it. (like Sarah laughed in disbelief when she first heard the promise of a son even though later she received it by faith). We feel at home with our imagination because it aligns to our desires, plans and ambitions.

While power of God gets released through our words/acts of faith, we are restricted by human ability when we operate based on imagination

Let's live by faith

Let's follow the 3-steps of living by faith that men and women of God in the Bible followed. In every circumstance, let's tune into what God releases for us in the spiritual realm. Let's take hold of it by faith and declare it through our mouth and carry out the acts of faith

Like young David, let's fight the giants of our lives through faith. Like Jesus, let's calm the storms in our lives by rebuking it. Let's believe the impossible like Sarah.. Like Noah, let's accomplish the extraordinary by faith. Let's also live by faith and carry out small acts of faith in our day-to-day lives and stop living by sight.