Growing By Faith

Would you say that most believers are living by faith?

In a book that I recently read I was challenged by the following statement: “ What are you doing right now that requires faith”? For many believers, they probably cannot think of anything in their lives that require faith. Life is comfortable and they do not need God or have trust Him for many things. But God doesn’t call us to be comfortable. He calls us to trust Him so completely that we are unafraid to put ourselves in situations where we will be in trouble if He doesn’t come through.

The Hall of Fame faith chapter is found in Hebrews 11. The author of this book records many OT saints and great patriarchs and gives examples of their faith. Many of these individuals had weak faith at times but demonstrated the reality of mature faith at some point in their lives. It shows that we can grow in our faith. The author states: ”And without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb.11:6). We need to depend upon God for everything and this demands our faith. Faith is the confidence that what God has stated in His Word is true, and that God will act according to what He has said in His Word. This reliance upon God’s Word produces confidence and growth in our faith. The question is, has God spoken in His Word? When He has, then we need to believe and trust Him completely. Our faith can be developed and may increase from feeble faith to mature faith.

God uses trials, obstacle and difficulties to become the very food for faith. It is through trials that faith is developed (James 1:2-4). We go through the furnace so we can be refined and become more useful for God’s kingdom (I Peter 1:6-7). God, out of His love, allows these times so we can rely upon what He has promised in His Word. God is using my illness so that I will trust Him more and grow my faith. I struggle with the losses in my life but remind myself of God’s promises that I have claimed. This has encouraged me in the tough times when things looked very dismal.

We need to realize that God is not obligated to explain His actions to us. I am confident that my faith has grown because I have seen the Bible speak to my every need. When I worry, it implies that I do not trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what’s happening in my life. Perhaps God is allowing hard things in your life, so you can show the world that your God is great and brings peace and joy, even when life is difficult. God has given me an opportunity to minister to others and use the lessons that I am learning to encourage and challenge others.

Now back to the question, “What are you doing right now that requires faith?” God wants your faith to grow and He may put obstacles and difficulties in your life to develop your faith. I want my faith to be mature faith where I trust God and His Word at all times.