Some of the guys at the gym I work out at have a magnificent physique. For a long time I attributed it to genetics, until one day I realized that they were already there and well into their workout when I arrived, and they were still going for it a half hour later when I left.
After talking to one guy about his diet, I found that he was very disciplined about what he put into his body, while I was still making bad decisions about fast food and enjoying late night snacks.
It was kind of an eye opener for me about what it was going to take if I wanted to get serious about physical fitness.
The only difference between the Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson’s of the world and the rest of us is their commitment to diet and exercise.
The same principle applies to your faith and your relationship with God. At salvation, your faith was a gift from God, but it takes exercise for it to grow.
Your physical muscles grow when they are challenged and used. It’s the same thing with your faith in God. If you want to have great faith, it starts with taking small steps, seeing God come through, and taking bigger and bigger steps as you experience the faithfulness of God to stay true to His word and keep His promises.
You know those people who you look up to in the faith? We all know people that we consider spiritual giants because of their great faith in God. Well, they have that tremendous level of faith in God because they have gone out on those limbs and seen God’s salvation.
Sometimes we are supposed to climb the tree and go out on the limb, and sometimes we are thrown into a situation where we are forced to either trust God or give up. But that’s how we grow. I supposed if we never encountered any resistance or challenging difficulty, our faith would be pretty shallow and rather weak.
According to Hebrews 11:1, faith is “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” In order for it to be faith, there is an element of trust that we have to exercise. Without the eyes of faith we can’t see how God will come through. It’s not a blind trust or leap off a cliff, it’s walking in the light, knowing full well that God is in control and we are in His able hands.
Romans 4 describes Abraham’s faith this way, “He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully persuaded that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.” That’s the kind of faith that you and I admire and aspire to.
How do we get it? Well, at one point, even the disciples, who had physically seen Jesus perform innumerable miracles, asked him to increase their faith. Sometimes, in the midst of difficulty, we all feel as though our faith is inadequate and not up to the test in front of us. In those times, we can pray, as they did, for an increase in our faith.
As we experience the faithfulness of God in our own lives, our faith grows and we can begin taking bolder and bolder steps, with increasing confidence that God will come through.
A popular illustration is given in this way. Sometimes God tells you to go out on a limb. Once you’re out there, you hear “Whir!, Whir!”, and turn around to see the devil with a chainsaw, cutting your limb from the tree. Faith is staying out on the limb and watching as he cuts through the limb and he and the rest of the tree fall crashing down as you and your branch are held up by the faithfulness of God.
What level of faith is God calling you to today? Are you letting your doubts hold you back from being everything He wants you to be?
It’s up to you to decide if you’ll go for it or not. So what do you think? Is He worth trusting?
I think YES!