I don’t know about you but my faith walk has been a long, ardous, uphill journey, that is not yet complete. This is mainly because it is my nature to question all things without blind belief, to always worry about the worse case scenario and take on the role of my own superwoman that attempts to ‘fix’ everything. Often while either leaving God totally out of the equation or running to Him in prayer as a last resort. Thank God for growth right?
So, what does one do when they are prone to leaning on their own understanding? Well, the first thing to do is to remember that you aren’t in control and no amount of worrying, stressing or action that you can take will change some situations. I personally had to realize that some situations were only shifted through faith and maybe you do too.
If the thought of relying on your faith often comes second to the reliance on your own strength, then I’ve got news for you, many times you won’t get that far. If you are anything like I was in this sense (or at times still am, it’s a process ya’ll) then the second thing you have to do is get honest with yourself and God. Own up to the fact that you aren’t living this life as the faith filled Christian woman you proclaimed to be.
The third thing is to understand that without faith, you are simply not pleasing God. Point blank period! So how do we grow in our faith when fear has us attempting to take matters into our own hands once again? This is what I found the bible says through my studies. (I recommend reading Hebress 11:1 prior to completing this blog, go on, I’ll wait).
1. READ YOUR WORD
This is fairly obvious as Romans 10:17 explicitly points out that faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of God. There’s no better way to get to know our father than running to His feet and learning from the book He left for us. So read your bible sis!
Romans 10:17 – Consequently, faith comes from hearing the word and hearing through the word of Christ
2. TRUST GOD
While faith and trust may seem pretty similar they aren’t. Let’s look at the definitions:
Trust is the firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something while faith is a ‘complete trust or confidence in someone or something’. If you read Hebrews 11:1 (which hopefully you did) we see that faith is actually a noun, it is ‘substance’ or something that we have posess.
So we have trust or belief in God’s reliability, in His strength, His love for us but we have faith in Him alone. If we think about trust in terms of human relationships, trust can be built and we trust that our partners will remain loyal and honest with us. In the same way we trust that God loves us and has our best interest at heart in the long run no matter what we see now. We build on that trust as we see His hand in our lives and we eventually grow to have a trust to understand that no matter what occurs God is in control, is faith.
Proverbs 3:5 tells us that we must trust in the Lord with all of our heart, how do we do this? Through getting to know Him, through reading about the people that trusted Him such as Abraham, Ruth, Enoch & Noah and following their example, by living out our own lives and refusing to doubt or try to understand why every little thing occurs.
I recommend keeping a trust journal, and every time you feel like you are building on that trust write it down!
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heard and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.
3. ASK GOD
The bible tells us that if we ask and believe we shall receive. The apostles were bold in asking Jesus to increase their faith, but they knew the source and went directly to Him. Luckily for us, we are to have faith the size of a mustard seed, but as we grow in Christ that faith should also grow. So ask God to increase your faith, even knowing that many times our faith is enlarged through trials and adversities.
Luke 17:5 – And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith
4. FELLOWSHIP
When I hear the testimonies of others is it so encouraging! Would you agree? If someone tells a faith filled story it often serves to strengthen our own faith, especially if we are going through similar test. Surrounding yourself with those that can lift you up at times when your faith may be wavering can be a game changer.
Romans 1:11-12 – I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong that Is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.
I hope these tips help, let me know if they do.
Love you!
Court
