The Seed
Our faith starts out as a seed which God plants in our hearts. It germinates and begins to grow when Jesus becomes our personal Savior.
But how we live our Christian life matters. Depending on what we do, our ability to trust God can become strong or shrivel up.
Jesus wants our faith to grow into a powerful, deeply-rooted tree, which supports us as we each walk through this life. A natural tree needs sunlight, water and good soil to grow.
In the same way, our faith grows when we nourish it.
Miracles don’t Strengthen our Faith
Moses and his people experienced more miracles and divine care from our Heavenly Father than any other believers in history. But for the vast majority, their trust in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob remained pathetically weak.
When the 10 spies gave a scary report to the people about the Promised Land’s inhabitants, the entire nation rebelled (Numbers 14:1-23). God punished them with forty more years in the wilderness, until that unbelieving generation died out.
Numbers 14:11 stands out.
The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs I have performed among them? (Numbers 14:11 NIV)
Two phrases in this verse hit me like a sledgehammer; “How long will these people treat me with contempt?” and “How long will they refuse to believe in me…?”
Ouch.
Caleb and Joshua’s Faith Continued to Grow
Only Joshua, Caleb and Moses grew so strong in their faith that they trusted God even when facing impossible obstacles.
These three remembered how Yahweh supernaturally saved His people in the recent past and believed He would in the future.
But they were the only ones.
Forty years later, the entire whining, rebellious adult generation God had rescued out of Egypt had died in the wilderness. Moses had also passed away. Only two—Joshua and Caleb—enjoyed the fulfillment of God’s promise and entered the promised land with the younger generation of Israelites.
So why did Joshua and Caleb trust the Almighty so deeply? What caused their faith to grow from a seed to a sapling, then into a mighty tree which couldn’t be shaken?
I think I know the answer.
Our faith grows when we regularly do this 7 things.
1 Need more faith? Just Ask
During my teenage years, I was a proud atheist. Honestly, I had no faith at all.
Later, the Lord spiritually opened my eyes. He planted faith inside my heart and I came to Christ.
But as a younger believer, I faced a personal crisis, while praying about a Christian friend’s hardness of heart.
Suddenly I realized my faith tank was 100% empty. I didn’t believe the words I was praying.
So I cried out and asked the Lord to give me the faith for this emergency.
The Holy Spirit immediately gave me a vision of cold running water chewing through a block of ice. At that moment, I realized a new truth. The hard places in my friend’s heart weren’t made of rock, but of ice. Faith flooded in.
Because I believed God would melt an icy heart and that’s what He did.
2. Cultivate a personal, deepening relationship with God.
Over the years, I’ve gotten to know my Lord’s tenderness toward me, His wonderful sense of humor, and His amazing ability to bring good out of life’s worst traumas. I’ve developed a deep trust in my Redeemer, as I’ve sought to obey Him. Plus I’ve seen hard prayers answered. My life has truly been transformed.
3. Listen to other Christians’ testimonies.
Nothing will grow my faith like hearing stories of the amazing things Jesus has done in the lives of fellow believers.
It always helps me see Him in a new way.
Here’s a fun testimony.
As the Alaskan winter started, the Holy Spirit nagged one Christian woman into giving her last bar of soap to a neighbor. She didn’t want to. She knew no more supplies would be coming into her town for months.
This Christ-follower grudgingly obeyed the Lord, but hated doing it.
Yes, Jesus has a sense of humor.
Her testimony makes me grin.
Since that day, she has never had to buy another bar of soap. It’s been years. People give her soap or it comes unexpectedly in the mail or some other way.
She has a divine, lifetime continuous supply of soap.
Makes me laugh with joy.
4. Be Aggressively Thankful
Thinking about the blessings of God in my life helps me trust Him more, because it brings His goodness, power and loving nature into sharp focus. Indeed, for most Americans, our blessings are past counting.
The first half of Psalm 50:23 says:
The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me… (Psalm 50:23 ESV)
Grumbling and whining are personal choices. But so is thankfulness. Here’s a short list of what I thank the Lord for.
I’m grateful for indoor plumbing—yea, no smelly outhouses!
I’m also blessed with a healthy body, hot water, air conditioning, Greek food, glasses, color vision and a personal Savior who continues to change my life in amazing ways.
5. Ask other Christians to pray for you.
Other Christians often have faith for my situation when I don’t. Their prayers give me hope, strength and comfort. Plus, God often answers, which helps me trust Him more.
6. Praise and Worship.
Hebrews 13:15 speaks of offering a “sacrifice of praise.” When I actively worship and praise God, I focus my mind on His power and goodness, instead of my problems.
If I’m upset, I might have to keep praising Him for an hour or so, before I break free of my negative emotional quicksand.
But as God becomes greater in my eyes, my problems shrink. So when I’m in deep pain, I praise God even through my tears.
Because I know where my real strength lies.
7. Stones of remembrance.
I strongly suspect this is one of the key differences between Caleb, Joshua, and the rest of the Israelites.
Most of the Israelite nation lived as unbelieving, self-pitying complainers.
Unfortunately, constant grumbling undermines our faith. I believe Joshua and Caleb frequently thought about all of God’s past glorious deeds, both in Egypt and in the wilderness. They filled their minds with internal “stones of remembrance.”
Both these men kept remembering the Lord’s mighty deeds and remained thankful. So their faith grew into a strong tree, which supported them through all of life’s trials.
My friends, let’s grow and nourish our faith this year.
I downloaded these images from Pixabay.com.
Editor’s Note: All the seed, leaf and tree images came from different species of maple trees.
