Faith as a Force

Ending 2025 Strong and Stepping Forward in Hope

By Paula Black | Winning Over Cancer

As this year comes to a close, many of us are taking inventory—of our health, our choices, our faith, and the battles we never expected to fight. The last week of the year has a way of doing that. It invites reflection, but it also invites decision.

For me, one of the defining trials of my life began with a cancer diagnosis.

Something like that instantly shift your world. Suddenly, time feels fragile. The future feels uncertain. Doctors give statistics. Well-meaning people offer opinions. Fear tries to speak the loudest and is easiest to hear. I realized very quickly that if I was going to walk this journey in peace and strength, I needed more than information—I needed truth.

That is when I began spending intentional, focused time in the Word of God. Not casually. Not occasionally. But daily and deliberately. What I began to learn during that season didn’t just change how I thought—it changed how I fought. I discovered that faith is not passive, and it is not wishful thinking. Faith is not simply praying that God will heal or deliver, strongly enough.

Faith is a supernatural force of acting on what I believed was God’s will and Word. And that understanding changed everything.

Faith Operates Beyond What We Can See

Cancer, or any serious challenge, has a way of forcing you to confront reality—but it also gives you the opportunity to decide which reality will have the final word. Scripture makes it clear that the spiritual realm is not secondary to the natural one. It is primary. The natural world responds to what is already settled in the spiritual realm.

Faith is the bridge between Heaven and earth. It is a force God created and entrusted to His children. In the spiritual realm, faith is Heaven’s currency. God Himself used faith to create all things. When He spoke creation into existence, it was the force of faith released through His spoken Word that brought it to pass.

Throughout the Bible, we see men and women who learned to use faith responsibly—and God was pleased with them. Jesus not only demonstrated, but taught continually about faith: what it is, how it works, and how to use it. He didn’t just talk about it; He lived it. He told His followers:

“He who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.” (John 14:12, NKJV)

Faith Is Not Hope—and That Matters

One of the most important lessons I learned on my journey is that faith and hope are not the same thing. Hope looks forward, but faith activates Heaven.

Hebrews 11:1 defines faith:

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

Jesus explained how faith works in Mark 11:

“For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.” (Mark 11:23, NKJV)

Faith is not based on emotions, reasoning, or circumstances. Like gravity, it is an unseen force—but unlike gravity, faith must be developed in order to work effectively.

Faith Grows Where the Word Is Planted

Scripture makes it clear that faith is superior to the natural realm and capable of overcoming anything we face. So why do so many believers struggle to see results?

Because we often limit ourselves to what we can see, feel, or measure. We allow the natural realm—medical reports, symptoms, or past experiences—to define what is possible.

Our faith is directly proportional to the amount of God’s Word we have planted in our hearts. Faith does not grow accidentally. It grows intentionally—when we plant the Word, cultivate it, and guard it against fear, doubt, and discouragement.

Romans 10:17 tells us plainly:

“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17, NKJV)

As we repeatedly hear God’s Word, faith rises in our spirit. But faith will work—either for good or for harm—depending on what it is rooted in. Faith rooted in fear produces fear-filled outcomes. Faith rooted in God’s Word produces life.

Speak the Word and Don’t Let Go

The God-kind of faith that brings God’s will and blessing, is anchored in Scripture. When we speak God’s Word and give it authority over the situation we are facing, it goes to work in the spiritual realm—rearranging circumstances to align with God’s will.

Scripture reminds us:

“And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” (Galatians 6:9, NKJV)

Your agreement with God matters. Your spoken words matter. Your perseverance to believe and act in faith when the results are still unseen, matter.

Speak God’s promises over your body, your health, and your future. Let your ears hear your own voice declaring truth instead of fear. Take hold of God’s Word with the force of faith—and don’t let go.

A Year-End Decision That Shapes the New Year

As we close out 2025, this is not just a time to look back—it is a time to decide how you will move forward.

What voices will you listen to in the coming year? What words will you speak over your life? What will you allow to take root in your heart?

This is not positive thinking. It is not a mental exercise. And it is not about selfish gain. True faith flows from the heart and is rooted in what God has already promised. It is there—in the heart—that faith mixes with God’s Word and becomes a spiritual force released through your spoken words.

We do this because God teaches us to. And we do it because it works.

If you are ending this year facing cancer, illness, or an uncertain road ahead, I want you to step into the new year holding firmly to this truth:

“For with God nothing will be impossible.” (Luke 1:37, NKJV)

With love and hope in Christ Jesus,

Paula Black

Winning Over Cancer