Now the title of today’s Word for the Day might seem like an oxymoron.  After all, the last few days have all examined how we have no hope apart from faith in Christ, and even our faith is not a work we are capable of, but is a gift from God (Eph 2:8-9).

I don’t think it would be fair though to leave us all hanging, without at least suggesting some helpful means through which I believe God builds our faith.  So if the pragmatist in you has been aching for a list of some kind for you to follow, today is for you!

1)  Ask Him for it.

Matthew 7:7-11 – “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”

God is a good and loving Father.  If our faith in Him is the means by which we are sustained in all things, and He is glorified, will He not pour out faith on those who ask Him?  Don’t be discouraged, don’t be satisfied with a small portion once, but continually wrestle with God in prayer until He blesses you.

Genesis 32:24-30 – “And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.”

Even the disciples of Christ, cried out with this request to Jesus face to face.  How much more then do we need to seek Him, when we cannot see Him face to face?

Luke 17:5 – “The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

The great part about prayer is that you can pray anytime, anywhere.  You are not limited in any way, except in your own desiring to do so.

2)  Meditate on the Word of God, throughout the day, every day.

Psalm 1:1-3 – “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.  He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.”

Romans 10:17 – “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

1 Thessalonians 3:2 – “we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s coworker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith,”

The gospel of God is given in 1 Corinthians 15:1-6 – “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you— unless you believed in vain.
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.”

That is the Word of Christ, by which faith comes as a gift from God to us, and by which we are being saved, if we hold fast to it.  That does not mean we can lose our salvation, it means these are the words of life for those who believe on Christ, and whose faith is real.  We need to preach these truths to ourselves daily.  We need to meditate on, and even memorize scripture, so that when our faith is rocked by the waves life will throw at us, we can stand firm, we will be well prepared for any onslaught against us.

If you do not have a time set aside to read your Bible everyday, it won’t happen.  If you say, I’ll just read it “sometime” today, and if I skip in the morning, it’ll happen tonight, it won’t.  If you come to your Bible each day, with no idea where to start, find a reading plan that will work for you.  There are many available to you.  Most Bible’s include inside them, a plan to read the Bible in a year – maybe start there.  Maybe your plan is to read 1 chapter out of a gospel every day, in order in addition, that’s great.  My only encouragement is to make the gospels a regular part of your Bible diet – there is not substitute for seeing the life of Jesus, how He responded to others, what He did, for understanding who He is, delighting in Him, and growing your faith in Him.

3)  Surround yourself with Christians who will preach the truth of the gospel, and your salvation through faith alone.  Find people who will challenge you, but mainly who will stir your affections for God in His Word.

Hebrews 10:22-25 – “let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, forhe who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” 

Find people that ooze gospel out of their lives, and grab onto them.  Find people who help you see and delight in Jesus in the Bible, who will walk with you through life, encouraging your faith.  We have an enemy that seeks to devour us, and do you know what he feeds on?  Faith.  Do you think our enemy cares if you’re healthy?  If he can make you healthy, and get you to start relying on yourself instead of God, he’ll try to make you healthy.  If he can steal you faith in God by making you comfortable with financial blessing, he’ll try to bring more money into your life than you can deal with, until your trust in God, and His righteousness is just a small glimmer in your life.  We need others around us, who will help pull us out of the fire, to help guard our faith at all times.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 – “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

If you don’t belong to a small group within a church body – start there.  When you get there, you’re going to realize that those people are really messed up sinners.  Guess what?  We all are.  Part of God’s growing us, His plan to sharpen our faith, is to put us alongside other struggling sinners, and let us see grace and forgiveness coupled with loving encouragement personified.  Make a commitment to a group of believers, I can guarantee it won’t be easy, but God will bless you for it, and may bless others through you there.

This is about as pragmatic as I can be, when it comes to delivering practical advice on how to accomplish something that is a work of God alone – your faith.  I don’t know about you all, but my faith is prone to fracture, prone to recede back, prone to drift, and I need every bit of assistance God may grant me to continue to draw near to Him in full assurance of my faith.   Now, if you’re like me, and I imagine most of you are, you need every one of these things in your life in increasing measure.  I hope this scripture is helpful today in your fight for faith.

Grace and Peace,
Adam