To say my Christian faith is unflappable would be untrue. It’s to the contrary. For even though I write devotions, engage in work on behalf of the poor in East Africa, and long for my confidence in Jesus Christ to be strong—often, too often, my faith is pathetically, embarrassingly weak. In the midst of personal hardships, I find it more natural to question God’s goodness than to trust in His sovereignty and bask in His love.
I’m not confessing anything new to God. His Word states that, whether or not I admit it, God knows how weak I am—how weak we all are (Psalm 136:23). He knows we are “only dust” (103:14). Our Creator understands that it’s easier to trust in what is “seen” than what is “unseen” (Hebrews 11:1-3), and that while our spirits may be willing, our bodies are weak (Matthew 26:41).
That’s why, in His great mercy, God sent His Holy Spirit to dwell in our hearts, to give us the grace and strength we need to muster up faith in Jesus even in the darkest of trials (Romans 8:26). The Lord wants you and me to be made right with God through our faith and trust in Him. He also allows us to experience these faith- building things:
• Salvation (Luke 7:50)
• Healing (Mark 3:4; James 5:15)
• Righteousness (Romans 1:7; Galatians 3:24; Philippians 3:9)
• Growth with our brothers and sisters in the faith (Ephesians 4:16)
• Protection from the enemy (Psalm 136:24; Ephesians 6:16)
The apostle Paul wrote, “So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ” (Romans 10:17). Let’s strengthen our faith by relying on the Holy Spirit, God’s Word, other believers, and His “faithful love” that endures forever (Psalm 136:25-26).
More:
In Luke 12:28, Jesus decries the lack of faith by those who claim to believe in Him. What reason does He give for the importance of a strong faith in God?
Next:
Talk with a Christian friend or two about the origin of their faith and what keeps it strong, even when circumstances threaten to make it weak. How have you grown in your faith this year?
winn collier on February 12, 2011 at 12:31 am
Thank you for your honesty, Roxanne. I have had some visual images today of God’s faithful love – a powerful reality.
R R Kelkar on February 12, 2011 at 7:34 am
I have a blog that brings the New Testament in the Marathi language of India to internet readers worldwide. I like to do this work and feel rewarded in that there have been 110,000 hits on my site so far. But like you, I too have my moments of weakness. Faith, like many other beautiful things in life, is fragile and needs to be handled with care. Faith and unbelief possibly go hand in hand all the time and we have to keep using our faith to overcome unbelief.
lindagma on February 12, 2011 at 7:36 am
The closer we come to God, the more we are struck with how imperfect we are. Won’t heaven be wonderful without the struggle.
eppistle on February 12, 2011 at 8:31 am
Martin Luther said, “only God and certain madmen have no doubts.” So for those of us who are not God or madmen, the question isn’t whether we will sometimes struggle with doubts, instead the questions are what are assumptions will be and what we will do with our doubts. Instead of having an attitude that God is guilty until proven innocent, we should have an attitude that God is righteous and we just don’t understand. God doesn’t expect us to ignore our doubts, but to investigate the evidence (John 20:24-28; Acts 17:11) so we can gain greater confidence. And when we have trouble believing the evidence, in our weakness we can cry, “Lord, I do believe; help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24).
sowharvest on February 12, 2011 at 6:21 pm
Roxanne thanks for the honesty.. I think as believers we sometimes need to understand (& hear) we have not “arrived yet” and there is no shame in that. It is that we are going forward, reaching toward that goal. Heaven knows that I too have had some “lack or questioning of GOD times”.. But just as the word proclaims –the Holy Spirit brings a word or thought to mind that combats the doubts. Thank GOD for his goodness :for his mercy endureth forever”. Praise GOD.
pri1465 on February 12, 2011 at 11:28 pm
Yes. Thanks Roxanne for your honesty. I too find that when I’m in a difficult situation that I forget about asking help from God and rush about trying to fix things. I have noticed that when I do this that at the end I am exhausted and the outcome is not the best. However, when I do remember in a situation to first pray and ask for help and guidance. I am guided to do the right thing. God has always provided what I have needed to handle the situation. So though my first instinct is to rush in. I am trying to remember to first pray in any situation. This is not easy because sometimes the answer does not come at once and I’m impatient. But when I trustingly wait upon the Lord’s guidance the outcome is the best and I am not exhausted in the end. So little by little I am remembering to first pray and wait upon the Lord in any situation.
JMHerman on February 16, 2011 at 9:14 am
I can relate so much to trying to fix things on my own. I am finally getting and feeling the big picture. I have experienced many end results not turning out for my best because I went about it alone. God knows the perfect time; He is never too late or too early.
regina franklin on February 13, 2011 at 9:36 am
Great word, Roxanne. Even this morning as my husband and I were talking about what at times seems like an uncertain future with some plans and goals we believe the Lord has given us, your words remind me that God is God–of both the seen and the unseen. Thank you for the call to stand in faith.
claude01779 on February 15, 2011 at 8:49 am
I say Amen to that! Another thing that I do to keep my faith strong is I watch the TBN channel. The preaching there keeps my hopes up and helps me to keep looking unto Jesus! I thank the Lord that there is a Christian channel that can minister to a lot of people all over the world! God is good!