Abram’s faith was reckoned as righteousness. Genesis 15:6
What was it about Abraham’s faith that God called him righteous? The word we translate as faith here is emunah. Abraham had emunah.
Faith is often referring to what we believe. Emunah, though, is a word that connotes a visceral conviction. It is an active trust and not an intellectual assent. Abraham wasn’t trusting in a set of doctrinal truths - he was trusting in God.
I may believe a surgeon’s credentials and his possession of skills that I need, but only when I trust his character to use them for my good will I have faith to submit to his knife. Abraham knew who God is, and at his very core He trusted Him. He had faith, not just in what God said, but in Who He is. Emunah exercises a belief in God versus acknowledging a belief about God. It wasn’t what Abraham believed that made him righteous, but the God he believed in that conferred righteousness on him.
Knowledge is a part of faith, just not the only part. Some think that by increasing our knowledge, our need for faith decreases. In reality, by increasing our understanding, we enhance our faith, not detract from it. And as we exercise it, allowing it to be tested, it grows and deepens.
I want emunah faith like Abraham but I know it takes exercise. I need to say yes to His leading so that He can build that faith in me. May my core conviction of Who He is grow steadfast and be reflected in active trust and reliance on the God in Whom I believe.
Even the demons believe—and shudder! James 2:19
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