In Hebrews 11:1. we are told that” Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
IT IS INTERESTING TO NOTE THAT THE WORD “EVIDENCE” IS ALSO USED IN THE BIBLE TO MEAN THE TITLE DEED TO LAND, as for example, in Jeremiah 32:8‑14. Therefore, we might say that faith is the title deed by which you get the right to claim the things you hope for. Now faith is belief, but belief in WHAT? The worshipers of Baal and Moloch had faith, but in the wrong things. It is not enough just to believe, WHAT MUST YOU BELIEVE? ALL OF GOD’S PROMISES!
Faith is taking God at His word, and thereby getting that which He promised. For example, it applies to your SALVATION. If you take God at His word, you are free from your burden of sins NOW. There’s no uncertainty about it, no need to wait and see what happens. BELIEVE NOW, and you know the joy of salvation NOW. If you don’t believe, you labour under the awful burden of your sins, not because God withheld relief, but because you didn’t accept what He offered.
God never asked man to believe anything unreasonable: He always gave proofs beforehand, enough to convince any reasonable man. God foretold the plagues He would bring on the Egyptians, then did it; after that, He told the Israelites to march to the Promised Land. He used fulfilled prophecy to demonstrate the complete reliability of His word.
In Isaiah 48:3‑5, He said, “I have declared the former things from the beginning: and they went forth from My mouth, and I showed them; I did them suddenly, and they came to pass. Because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass; I have even from the beginning declared it to thee: before it came to pass, I showed It thee.”