Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses (1 Timothy 6:12).
Faith is so important in our lives, for without it we just won’t be able to receive from the Lord. The necessity of faith is mentioned often in the New Testament and was clearly demonstrated by Jesus in His earthly ministry.
We are admonished over and over to walk by faith and not by sight or feelings. It’s important to be practical with yourself when approaching the subject of faith and how to integrate it into your life. The key to growing faith is to build faith up daily by meditation in the Word of God and by putting it into practice in the daily affairs of life.
One statement that I make regularly in teaching on this subject is that faith is for what you don’t yet physically have but has been promised to you by the Lord. Jesus said that we are to believe we receive the answer to our prayer before we tangibly see it in manifestation. If we do this then the answer will materialize (Mark 11:24).
An important point in this is to start small with your faith. Start believing for a raise on your job. Believe God to heal an ache in your body that you’ve experienced for a while. Believe you receive healing from a headache, from a cold, from a stomach virus, from a skin rash or from warts. Believe God for a certain amount of money to pay a bill or to give into a ministry. Ask God for opportunities today to minister to others. Believe you receive a parking space in a full and busy parking lot (I do this every time I park at a hospital particularly). The idea here is to start small with small things with your faith. When it comes to pass, then your confidence in exercising faith will increase, and you’ll gradually be able to believe for greater things.
Jerry Savelle came to the first Bible school that I attended in my hometown in the 1970’s. He taught us on faith and encouraged us students to believe God for small things. He made an impression on me when he told us that he believed God for a new pen, or for a pair of socks, a new suit, or a new pair of shoes. He exercised his faith for everything in his life, even the small things. This made a lasting impression on me and helped me to understand that if I’m going to live a faith lifestyle, then I’m going to have to start in the small things.
Faith is built up a little at a time. Jesus said, For the earth brings forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear (Mark 4:28). A corn stalk starts as a seed, grows into a tall plant, then bears fruit. That’s the way faith works. It starts small and increases in size and strength.
Make a decision that you will be a person who chooses to walk by faith. Begin today to exercise your faith in the small things in life. If you do, then when crisis time comes, or when someone need you in an emergency, you’ll be prepared to exercise your faith. If you wait to get faith when you need it, you’ll be at a great disadvantage. Do your homework now for the tests that will come in your future. Remember that all things are possible with God, and all things are possible to him who believes.
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