For the believer in Jesus Christ, faith must always be present in everything that one does, and it is especially true when difficulty presents itself. Faith is where we need to focus all of our energy, for it is where we need to trust in the Lord and His provision for us. With the world that we live in today and its challenges, this faith will be tested and challenged. The faith that we have, in trusting in Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, does not come only through our own efforts.
Romans 1:17
For in it God’s righteousness is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.
Our faith develops through our relationship with the Lord, Jesus Christ. The greater the relationship…the greater your faith. Both the salvation and the faith that we receive from God are gifts from God.
Ephesians 2:8-9
For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—not from works, so that no one can boast.
Romans 10:9-10, 17; 12:3
If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. With the heart one believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses, resulting in salvation. So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ. For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one.
This is where the doctrine of saving faith by God’s grace comes from. It is not something that man can conjure up.
Romans 3:3-4
What then? If some did not believe, will their unbelief cancel God’s faithfulness? Absolutely not! God must be true, but everyone is a liar, as it is written: That You may be justified in Your words and triumph when You judge.
Some may lack faith, but that has nothing to do with God’s faithfulness. God has not changed, and will not change.
If your relationship with Jesus Christ is truly growing, your faith will also grow, for it grows as you realize the power of Christ in your life. You will also realize God’s blessings and His provision as you continue to trust in Him. God does all of this as we step out on faith. It is important to always pay attention to how God speaks to us and have faith and trust in what He is saying, without regard for how long it takes.
Take Joseph, for example. He was sold into slavery at a young age by his own brothers. If anyone should have been an emotional basket case, it should have been Joseph–for all of the emotional turmoil that he had gone through–yet, he became a mighty testimony of his faithfulness to God. Joseph lived in such a way that he had a complete confidence in God and His presence in his life. Look at the confidence He expresses in God and in His care and provision, even at the end of his life.
Genesis 50:24-25
Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will certainly come to your aid and bring you up from this land to the land He promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” So Joseph made the Israelites take an oath: “When God comes to your aid, you are to carry my bones up from here.”
Jacob (Israel), Joseph’s father, expressed that same confidence in God when speaking to Joseph:
Genesis 48:21-22
Then Israel said to Joseph, “Look! I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you back to the land of your fathers. Over and above what I am giving your brothers, I am giving you the one mountain slope that I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and bow.”
Your faith in Jesus Christ will lift you up and allow you to prosper in His strength through any situation or circumstance. You need to take an inventory of what God has done for you over time. Seeing God working in your life will build your faith and confidence in Him, step by step and day by day.
Akron Alliance Fellowship 