Faith requires investment. I was told of a water park that had a slide that took the rider underwater in a SHARK POOL! You could slide through the water and watch the sharks, but still be safely enclosed. As these experiences were described to me, my brain did it’s job and placed pictures in my mind of what I imagined it to be like. However, I find that when I rely on this imaginative process, it is never actually accurate to the real thing: amenities are in different proximities, structures always look a little different, and the surroundings are often very dissimilar. This is to be expected. Things are never quite how we imagine them simply because our brains try to comprehend something they have not experienced. I will never know exactly what that slide is like unless I go and try it out for myself.
The benefits of faith are like this. The Bible tells us that through faith we experience a love put in our hearts by God, a peace that surpasses understanding, and hope that prevails even in the most troubling times. But for the person who does not live by faith (or even those who are immature in their walk with Christ) these concepts are foreign. There may be knowledge OF them, but there is no true comprehension of such benefits. Psalm 34 tells us to “taste and see that the Lord is good.” To truly understand His goodness, you must taste, you must take part in it yourself. It is only after faith that we begin to truly comprehend the benefits of faith. If you find that you are lacking the benefits that scripture says are yours, perhaps you need to pursue a deeper walk with Christ. It is only in getting to know Him that we truly experience His presence.