Misunderstanding the word "Faith"

This morning during my personal Bible study, I came across something that was pretty profound. Over the past year or so, I've been using online Bible study tools like Biblehub to look at commentaries as well as reading Hebrew from the Old Testament and Greek from the New Testament along with my English Translation. In the New Testament, I'm currently in the gospel of Luke. Today I studied chapter 8. Part of verse 50 stuck out to me for some reason. After looking at some Greek on a blog and in Biblehub, I wrote this in my devotional journal:

 “Do not be afraid; just believe."

The word believe here is "Pisteos" in Greek. The word is used to describe a vow or a pledge in a relationship, akin to marriage. The word describes a covenant relationship. Jesus isn't saying to believe mentally, but to continue in faith in every aspect of life. (Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.) I read earlier in v. 41 that a ruler named Jairus, whose daughter is suffering, comes and falls down at Jesus' feet in front of a multitude, an act of great humility and faith. This is the essence of pisteos and a much better translation into English would be "act in faith."

I have often had a very one-dimensional view of belief, thinking I can only believe with my mind. This is saying something like, "I believe in gravity." Or how James says that the demons believe in God. Perhaps it's because English doesn't have these kinds of words. This kind of belief, however, is incomplete. Oftentimes I have treated faith and works (deeds, actions) as if they are separate things. But I'm understanding that for the early Christians, though they had different words for describing each, they are not two separate parts of our relationship with God. Kristin's and my faith in each other's love is not divorced from our actions toward each other. They are one like "pisteos."

This year, I feel as though God has been revealing different aspects of what it means to be in relationship with Him, especially when it comes to Kristin's battle against cancer. The Lord has been gracious in revealing to us how apathetic we are in our love towards Him, each other, and others. I was wondering why my faith felt weak. It's because my spiritual life was also weak.

Jairus came and fell down at Jesus' feet. While they're walking to his house, someone comes and tells him his daughter has died. This is when Jesus says, "Just believe." Just pisteos. I've also heard that a better translation of the word faith in the New Testament is "faithing," meaning to continue in something. I've been thinking about how it's similar to how I believe that eating healthy and exercising will help me be in better physical shape. The beliefs themselves will not make me healthy. Faith is indeed a gift. I think God gives it to us as an encouragement to make ourselves healthy. Then, once we are healthy, that gift of faith is fortified in us. But if not, I think we begin to doubt and question this gift of faith. I think this is why James says: "Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves." I can believe that my dog, Jojo, is a human and can talk to me, but the reality of my interactions with him do not support that, so I'm deceiving myself. This year, I have been saying that I believe and trust in God, but I've also been riddled with doubt, anxiety, irritability, and impatience. Lord, help my unbelief and show me the path to work out my salvation.