Why is faith said to be so very important?

Petch

Why is faith said to be so very important?

Hebrews 11:1-7
[1] Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. [2] Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation. [3] By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God's command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen. [4] It was by faith that Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did. Abel's offering gave evidence that he was a righteous man, and God showed his approval of his gifts. Although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to us by his example of faith. [5] It was by faith that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying-"he disappeared, because God took him." For before he was taken up, he was known as a person who pleased God. [6] And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. [7] It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before. By his faith Noah condemned the rest of the world, and he received the righteousness that comes by faith.

Faith is never about easy fixes. It is tenaciously involved in the extremities of our very existence. So it was that Abel's faith (4) was rewarded by death at the hands of his brother. The first worshiper in the Bible became the first victim. So no one should live under the illusion that faith is an insurance policy against the possibility of death.

But perhaps death is not entirely inevitable. Little is known of Enoch (5) apart from the fact that his faith took him above the river of death (see Gen. 5:24). And equally, Noah (7), who must be on record as the longest serving evangelist with the lowest conversion rate, secured his own safety and that of his family as a result of his faith in God (see Gen. 7:1-16). So his faith, too, is commended.

In each case, faith really was a matter of life and death. Like thousands of Christians today, Abel discovered that faithful worship was no guarantee for longevity of life. But he was no less a faith hero than Enoch or Noah. In fact, we, too, can be no less faith heroes than they, if we, like they, persevere to the end.

How would you assess your faith? Is it strong? What is its foundation? Can it stand in the face of trouble?