In examining faith we have found that not only is it impossible to please God without faith  (Heb. 11:6), but also that all the promises God has freely given us, are appropriated by faith.  We are saved, justified, sanctified, purified, healed, protected, provided for by faith.   If we are saved, we then live by faith, we walk by faith  (not by sight), we overcome by faith, we are healed by faith, and protected by faith.  We receive the promise of the Spirit by faith, Christ dwells in our hearts by faith.  Everything hinges on our faith.  We cannot even get saved without it.  We have no access to the throne of God without it.  We cannot experience Jesus without faith, we are not more than conquerors without it, and we cannot please God without faith.

Faith is more than a mental assertion that something is true.  Faith is an active force that grabs hold of something and will not let go, regardless of what is seen in the natural realm.  Faith has corresponding actions.  And those actions are saying what one really believes.  There is a true proverb that says your actions are speaking so loudly that I cannot hear what you are saying. 

In Hebrews 11:1 we find the definition of faith:  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.  Notice faith is NOW!  It is not something off in the future somewhere.  It is NOW!  Faith isn’t trying to get something.  FAITH’S GOT IT!  (Also, the word hope here literally means confident expectation.)  Faith does not look at materiality or the size of a problem.  Faith looks up and focuses on the size of God and His awesome ability to perform!
  
Circumstances are real, but the faithful live in a higher reality of truth.  Faith operates in the spirit realm where materiality is merely circumstantial evidence-not the highest truth.  Remember Peter in Matthew 14.  Jesus was walking on water and Peter said, "Lord, if it be you, bid me come".  Jesus said, "Come" and Peter came out of the ship and the Bible says he walked on the water to go to Jesus.  Clearly you can see that Peter's actions were screaming faith because he was walking on water.  But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid" and began to sink.  Notice, Peter walked on the water while he was operating in the faith realm.  But when he took his eyes off Jesus and focused on the circumstances, he left the realm of faith and entered the arena of doubt and unbelief, which robbed him because he believed circumstantial evidence (in this case, the unruly wind and waves) instead of having faith that with God all things are possible; including walking on water - even in a storm.

We find in Matthew 14:30 as Peter is walking to Jesus on the water that the storm kicks up and Peter was afraid.  Suddenly Peter doubted.  Why did he doubt?  He was walking on water!  The power of God was accessed by Peter's faith and he was walking on the water to Jesus, literally sustained by the word of the Lord.  But, what happened to Peter is an all too common occurrence when we find ourselves in difficult situations.  What he saw - the boisterous wind and waves (the circumstances)- caused him to let go of his faith (his belief in God’s ability and willingness to perform) and embrace doubt.  Doubt and unbelief breed fear.  And we know from 2 Timothy 1:7 that God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.  So, we know that fear did not come from God.

It is imperative that we train ourselves to focus on Jesus and refuse to allow our attention to be diverted to circumstances, because without faith it is impossible to please God, Hebrews 11:6.   Remembering this acronym can help: FEAR is False Evidence Appearing Real.  You see, faith perceives as real fact, that which has not yet been revealed to the senses.
 
In the Bible we can find many examples of doubt and unbelief resulting from believing physical circumstances more than believing God.  When God told the Hebrew people that He was giving them the Promise Land, to go take it, only Joshua and Caleb stood in faith.  The condensed version of the story goes like this from Numbers 13.  And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,  “Send men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel."  The spies reported back to Moses, and they told him, and said, “We came unto the land where you sent us, and surely it flows with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.  Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great."  In other words they were saying, "We know God said to possess the land, but what we see (which apparently makes us smarter than God) tells us we are not able to take the land, even though God told us He was giving it to us to take.
 
But thankfully Caleb had faith. Numbers 13:30-31 says, And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it!”  But the men that went up with him said, “We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.” While Caleb spoke faith, the other spies spoke fear.
 
How do you suppose God viewed that?  Verse 32 tells us exactly how God viewed it: And they (the other spies) brought up an evil report of the land.  God gave His Word, but they believed what they saw over what God said.  And that was recorded as evil.  (The biblical Hebrew equates it to slander).
 
We then see the consequences:  And the LORD spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, “How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against Me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against Me. Say unto them, As truly as I live, says the LORD, as ye have spoken in My ears, so will I do to you:  Your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against Me, Doubtless you shall not come into the land, concerning which I swore to make you dwell therein, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.”   Numbers 14:26-30.  Obviously, God does not take doubt and unbelief lightly.  In fact in verse 33 He calls it whoredom; (adultery, infidelity).
 
These two stories alone establish just how seriously God views our faith.
 
So, where do we get faith?  How do we exercise faith? Who is responsible for developing our faith?
 
Romans 10:17 tells us how faith comes.  Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.  We can have faith for something when we get God's Word on it because Jeremiah 1:12 says God watches over His Word to perform it.  So, if you want to be a faith giant, delve into the Word of God and explore what He says is already yours!  Immersing yourself in the promises of God and taking Him at His Word will cause faith to come.  Just do it.  You will never be sorry.  The Lord promised the Hebrews the Promise Land, but only the faithful; Joshua and Caleb possessed it because the others were doubters and REFUSED to take God at His Word.  And there are many misinformed people still today, believing what is contrary to God’s Word, and denying themselves, and all those who they convince, to receive what God has already promised.  They are refusing to receive His goodness by refusing to believe His Word.
 
God is not pleased with this attitude.  It is an affront to Him, when circumstances dissuade people from believing what He has spoken and is watching over to bring to pass.