“ For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. (Romans 12:3).
Are you facing a critical circumstance in your life? God works miracles and does wonders when all hope is gone!
The Gift of Faith
Our daily lives must be a walk of faith. The Bible defines faith as, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1). Faith is also the victory that overcomes the world. (1 John 5:4). God has graciously given to every Born Again Christian a measure of faith needed to overcome in this world. However, the extent to which faith will profit a believer depends on their willingness to develop it into an overcoming faith. To have a strong faith you must spend quality time in the Word of God and apply that truth to your life to develop and increase your levels of faith in God. (Romans 10:17).
In Luke Chapter 8, Jesus was asleep in the boat in the middle of a storm. His disciples were terrified they were about to drown, and quickly went to get Jesus up! After Jesus rebuked the storm, calming the weather. Jesus asked His disciples, “Where is your faith?” By this, Jesus was trying to teach them to trust in God. He was more or less saying, ‘Why won’t you practice your faith? Why will you not put pressure on your faith to work in this problem and see the miracle God will do for you!?’ To develop strong faith, we have to learn to put pressure on our faith by applying it in challenging circumstances.
Trusting the All-Sufficient God
By nature, we are insufficient beings. But God is the all sufficient One who can do anything. In our insufficiency God delights to be our sufficiency. To have faith in God, means to trust Him for all our needs. Thus, when we encounter a challenge beyond our natural ability to resolve, it is an opportunity to trust God to provide for us as promised in His Word.
God knows we are weak and broken vessels. That is why He calls us to lean on Him for the strengthen we need in our brokenness. In the moments when we feel weak and vulnerable, we are not supposed to become anxious and fearful. We are not to be hopeless and helpless but it is an opportunity to humble ourselves before God as our all-sufficient heavenly Father. In our weakness God renders His strength making us perfect in His sufficiency. When you feel weak, inadequate and vulnerable do not fear! Instead realise it is the moment to receive by grace from God. If not, the devil will take advantage of your weakness to overwhelm your heart with fear and anxiety.
The Bible says,
1 Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”
Philippians 4:6-7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Examples of Heroic Faith in God
Without faith we cannot please or receive the blessings of God. God warned Noah of coming judgement by flood. God instructed him to build a boat. Even though, Noah had never seen rain he was obedient to God. As result of his trust in God, Noah and his family were preserved from judgement. (Hebrews 11:7).
Abraham’s faith was tested. God told him to leave his country, his family and go to a foreign land, even though he did not know where he was going. He took God at His word and became blessed. (Genesis 12).
God told Gideon to reduce his army from 32,000 to a ridiculous size of 300 in comparison to his enemy’s army of 135,000 soldiers. Gideon obeyed and God defeated his enemies! (Judges 6 and 7).
All these people and more were recorded in the ‘Hall of faith’ as those who pleased God because they exercised their faith. (Hebrews 11). They acted in obedience to what God told them and God rewarded their Obedience with miracles! They were all believers but they had to put their ‘measure of faith’ to work in their personal ordeals.
“If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (John 15:7)
As much as God wants us to ask for what we desire and as much as God has given each believer a measure of faith to overcome in this world. We will not benefit from this provision unless we put our faith to work!
Discovering the Treasures of Faith
Our problems are not news to God. The challenges we face do not frighten God, rather they help us to discover our weakness and where we need to go to receive unfailing strength. It is in our in adequacies and failures that we finally get to realise that without Christ we can do nothing but through Christ’ strength we can do the impossible. (Philippians 4:13).
“He replied, …Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20).
Trusting God to be our all sufficiency weakens our ability to be ‘self-reliant’. A self-reliant person is characterised as a person trusting in the arm of flesh which will ultimately lead to failure. On the other hand, a God-reliant person is characterised as Blessed in all seasons. (Jeremiah 17:5-8).
Stir Up Your Faith
Jesus miracles were a demonstration of His faith in God. He surrendered all and lived His life totally dependent on God. Jesus always taught us to learn from Him. We can also be carriers of God’s power if we will trust in God with fiery passion like Jesus.
God is the Creator; He is Sovereign and always in control of everything in our physical world and in the spiritual realm. God owns all things including us. (Deuteronomy 10:14). God can control us, but He has chosen not to. God has given us the freedom to choose whether we want to love and obey Him or whether we want to be independent of Him. But the end of the matter is that, God holds times and seasons in His hand. And He rewards accordingly those who diligently seek after Him. (Hebrews 11:6).
Do you believe the Word of God is the Truth and that God is able to fulfil His promise? If so, now is an opportunity to act on your faith. Pray and declare the promises of God over that impossible situation you are facing and over your life.
Be encouraged and stand firm in your faith. Trust that God is going to inter vein and work it for good.
Prayer:
Dear God, please help me to trust and follow you. In the trials of this life help me to develop a stronger faith trusting you to be my sufficiency in all things. Help me to surrender and experience your blessings. I believe the report of the Lord. I trust your plan for me is not evil but good. Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.