Faith? Do you possess it?

Is your ‘faith’ healthy? Let me explore the question with you. No, I am not asking if Christianity is in good shape or even  if your local congregation is thriving.  Is there evidence of faith in God, hope in Christ, and fullness of the Spirit that others can see?  What we claim as our ‘faith’ is revealed by what we do! Our profession of faith in Jesus Christ is confirmed, not by our confession alone, but by daily choices that reveal our true convictions.

Mark tells us that when Jesus’ fame was beginning to spread as He did God’s work at one point He went back to His hometown. Despite the evidence, the people there would not accept Him as a Man full of God’s Spirit. "When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. “Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles! Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor.” He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them." (Mark 6:2-5, NIV)  His ability to share God’s blessing with them was shut down by their refusal to exercise real faith.  To the people in that little village He was just Mary’s son, the carpenter.

Who is He to you?  Is He just ‘the good Teacher?’  Is He the Savior for Heaven, but not the Lord of life? Like the people of Jesus’ hometown, most of us have gaps in our faith that we do not see in ourselves!  We may find faith to trust Him with for our financial needs and yet fail to trust Him to forgive us some sin of our past.  We may be able to live with total assurance of Heaven and yet live with terrible anxiety about tomorrow. Mature, healthy faith creates a beautiful wholeness. Inconsistencies disappear and an admirable, rock solid, Christ-centered, life emerges like a butterfly from a cocoon.  

So, how does a Christian gain faith that is beautiful and whole?

We ask for it!  
Faith is a gift of God.  The Holy Spirit works in us to draw us to God, to cause us to desire Him and to live in a way that pleases Him.  A man who was in desperate need came to Jesus seeking healing for his tormented son.  He realized that the most basic need he had was for greater faith and his prayer was direct - "I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief!"  (Mark 9.24)   We must not pretend to own a greater faith than we do.  Such hypocrisy blocks us from asking for the very thing we need most in time of need - the gift of faith.

We inform our minds with godly truth! 

The fertile soil of a strong, life changing faith, is the Scripture.  In the pages of the Bible, God is revealed to us.   When our minds are shaped around God, when we understand the world with a spiritual view, faith grows.   The Psalmist said, "I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you." (Psalm 119:11, NLT)   What does he mean?   That he had taken time to integrate the truth of God's Word into his thought life so that his actions would be consistent with faith.

We invite the Spirit to school us, to develop faith.  

"When your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing." (James 1:3-4, NLT)    In The Message, that passage reads - "You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way." (James 1:3-4, The Message)     When life kicks you around, when people fail you, when the future looks dark, when to all appearances there is no way to turn for relief- you are in the school of faith!   You can relinquish control, quiet your soul, and put yourself in God's care, OR you can kick, scream, and create your own solution.

We keep the focus on Jesus, not ourselves!

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” the inspired writer says. (Heb 12:2) You cannot ‘work up’ more faith! I cannot make you believe. Faith grows with devotion.  The Greek text (the New Testament’s original language) has a slightly different connotation than we might think. “Author” comes to us from a word that means “captain, prince, leader.”  Jesus is the Captain of Faith. He is leading the way, calling the cadence for our lives. IF we walk in step with Him, faith grows.  “Perfecter” is a word that tells us that His faith is complete and worthy.  We can aspire to be like Him!

If you choose to exercise faith, God will make a way.   It might not be the way you would choose, but it will be the way that brings honor to Him. Don't be alarmed if you find yourself in anguish when your faith is being formed.  Even Jesus was pressed to the limit.  When He faced the Cross, He prayed for release, but then released Himself to God's plans, not with resignation to fate, but with a faith surrender to His Father's will!

There is no easy road in the life of faith.   The natural man craves security, affirmation, and vindication of self!   The spiritual man is secure in the Spirit, affirmed by God, and is willing to wait for Heaven's revelation.

It's a faith thing!

___________

‘Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,

Just to take Him at His word.

Just in simple faith to plunge me,

‘neath healing, cleansing flood.

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!

How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er.

Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus –

O for grace to trust Him more!

-public domain