Faith is like a vacuum. No, faith isn’t like cleaning.

Stay with me.

Most of the time when I vacuum, my floors don’t look dirty. I don’t see dust everywhere. There aren’t crumbs scattered across the carpet. But I vacuum anyway.

Why?

Because I know the dirt is there.

Just like you, I know that just because I can’t see the dust, dirt, dog hair and whatever else has made its way onto my floors doesn’t mean it isn’t there. So, I don’t need to see it before I pull out the vacuum. I act on what I already know.

Faith works the same way.

Hebrews 11:1 tells us, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

The not seen part can be hard.

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about Proverbs 3:5–6. The NET says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding.”

Rely.

I keep coming back to that word. Rely. It’s been a game-changer for me.

Trust can feel abstract.

What does it actually mean to trust God when I don’t know what’s going to happen? When I can’t see what He’s doing? When the circumstances in front of me don’t look anything like what I’ve been praying for?

Trusting God means to rely on what I already know.

I know God is faithful. I know He hears me. I know He loves me. I know He has promised to never leave me or forsake me. I know His character doesn’t change.

And because I believe those things, my faith should cause me to act.

James 4:2 says, “You do not have because you do not ask.” That verse has been on my mind lately, too.

It made me stop and think: What do I want to ask God for? What am I going to believe Him for?

Not because asking guarantees I’ll get exactly what I want, how I want. But, when my desires align with God’s will, I can move forward in faith, believing, asking, and trusting Him with the outcome.

Faith asks.

Faith prays.

Faith obeys.

Faith keeps moving when there is no visible evidence that anything is changing.

Faith isn’t quite as abstract as I sometimes make it.

Faith is simply choosing to live according to what I know about God—even when I can’t see the evidence yet.

Kind of like vacuuming.