The Stuff that makes Faith Grow

A thought has haunted me for as long as I have been a Christian:  what is required of me to have more faith?  I find that in moments I have had faith that was truly unshakable, and at other points I have questioned what the Lord was doing in my life at the time, usually during tough times.  But how does one develop faith that is deep and unshakable all of the time?

The Bible defines faith this way:

Hebrews 11:1  Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.

So faith is not something tangible.  As such it is tied to hope, and its evidence is not something we can see.  We have faith in many things on a day to day basis.  Every morning I have faith that my alarm clock will go off on time.  When I get into my car, I have faith that it will start.   At the end of the month I have faith  that my employer will pay me on time.  When I get home I have faith that I will be able to have something to eat.  At times I have been disappointed that these things haven't happened when I expected them to and my faith in that thing or event was shaken, but I didn't give up.

But having faith in the Lord is a different kind of thing entirely.  I had and still have faith that the Lord called our family to adopt kids.  I didn't receive certified letter in the mail from the Lord directing me to do that, but I'm certain He did tell me to do that.  I had faith that the Lord was calling my family to the Pacific Northwest for His name's sake, but I didn't get a text on my phone from Him saying "go now."  I believe the Lord exists although I've never seen Him and have never heard His voice.  I have faith that when I die I will actually live on with Him because He covered me once and for all for all of my sins.  I can't see that though, and I won't until it is time for me to leave this planet.

And while "faith" in earthly things is developed usually by seeing, faith in things of God's kingdom isn't developed that way, and only deepens in times of difficulty when things don't make sense.  Many so called teachers these days will incorrectly proclaim that the life of a Christian is easier or made better in an earthly sense.  That isn't true.  The further I go down the road as a Christian, the harder it gets.  When I was in college, my trials usually consisted of taking a simple stance for my faith.  As I became an adult, my faith was stretched when one of my kids made it into the hospital right after birth with a serious illness.  When I got older, my faith was stretched in adopting and is tested daily in the trials related to that obedience.  And when I thought I had it made in life, my faith was stretched further by willfully leaving my dream job, family, and friends to come to a part of the world where I knew nobody, just because Jesus asked me to do so.  And 5 years later, by faith I had our family move back to where we came from to serve at our church, and leave my career altogether.  The trials, if anything, get more and more difficult as you walk through life as someone who pursues the Lord.  In fact, many days I feel weaker and less able to do the things the Lord asks than I did even a few years ago!

The Apostle Paul knew about this more than you and I do.  In 2 Corinthians 6 we get a window into his world.

⁸ We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. We are honest, but they call us impostors. ⁹ We are ignored, even though we are well known. We live close to death, but we are still alive. We have been beaten, but we have not been killed. ¹⁰ Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything.

So it's not difficult to read between the lines and see that Paul was, at times, despised by other Christians.  He was slandered, ignored, weak, scarred, destitute (by world standards) and experienced sadness.  Yet he kept going.  His faith seemed to be unwavering.

James, another apostle, put it in this context.  I believe we can see Paul's example in his words, too.

² Dear brothers and sisters,^[a] when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. ³ For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. ⁴ So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

So the hardships Paul experienced, and probably James too, deepened their faith because it developed their endurance more fully.

Endurance is a great word, but it isn't a fun word.  I think of that word when I think of running.  If you are a runner you know what I'm talking about.  When you decide to start running you likely were not able to just jump out there and go 4 miles.  It took you a long time to work your way up to that level.  During the time in which you worked your way up to that level, it hurt a lot.  You were sore later and tired.  You probably faced many times in which you didn't want to go out ever again.  Hopefully you got over that and went out there, but some of you may not have.  

Faith is like that too.  It is strengthened in difficulty, in things that aren't fun, in things that don't make sense, and in things that may look foolish to someone who is watching you.  And situations requiring faith are more than a bad day.  Everybody has those and many of them have nothing to do with developing faith or endurance.  Instead, the trials Paul went through and the ones you go through will likely be things you simply have to trust God on.  Paul had to believe that his difficulties had to do with opposition to his message, and his faith made him keep going.  Your trials of faith probably look different, but they are always things you are having to trust God for.

I don't know what you are being called to have faith on right now.  Perhaps it is just finding a job after a long time of not working.  Perhaps it is reconciliation in your marriage or in a broken friendship.  It might be having faith that your child who is in active rebellion against the Lord finally comes to know Jesus.  Maybe you have to have faith to get through depression or anxiety, just believing that Jesus is with you in it and has purpose for it.  Whatever it is, know that the Lord is teaching you something.  These things give us a choice to desperately cling to our Lord or to push away.  If we cling to him we will know him better and see his deliverance in whatever form that eventually takes.  If we walk away, the trial has not taught us anything meaningful because we still think deliverance can come from us.

Only the Lord can turn a terrible circumstance and make it into something that would benefit you.  Only one can do that.  Only he can see the full scope of everything going on around you and can steer things for your ultimate good.  No one else can do that.  No one else knows how.

So whatever burden you carry today, get on your knees, be quiet, and hand it over to the Lord.  And in the moments when you want to take it back and carry the burden yourself, go back to that place of quiet before him, offering it up yet again.  In these still moments you will learn to know the Lord better than you ever have, and will rediscover hope.  And hope rests in him alone.