I Grow by Believing

Q - What one thing can you do this week to grow in your Christian faith?

Many answers come to mind when pressed with this question. The common ones are probably read the bible, pray, serve the poor, attend a service of some sort, etc., while some may even include confession, fasting, or some other "deeper" Christian discipline. While all these disciplines surely are useful for growth, I would submit a slightly different answer: belief. There is so much scripture (John 6:28-29, Col. 2:6, I Tim. 1:3-5, Gal. 5:6) surrounding this idea of belief, and a quick breeze through Matthew (8:26, 14:31, 16:8, 17:20) shows that Jesus' biggest criticism of his disciples is their lack of faith. Faith is central to the Gospel.

That's great, but how do I grow by believing? The exciting thing about Christian growth is that God is the one who does the growing. Faith is not the gospel's power in our lives, and it's a good thing, because if it were, we would be limited by the amount of faith we have. Jesus says that faith the size of a mustard seed could move a mountain. This is true because faith is not the power that moves, it is the switch that allows the Holy Spirit to flow. And believe me, if faith the size of a mustard seed could switch on the power of the Holy Spirit, mountains indeed would move. Faith, then, is the instrument for receiving the power of God in our lives.

You may be feeling this way: "Faith is some kind of spiritual energy you get when you obey. I do not have much of it." This vague feeling is common among Christians, yet it's a misunderstanding of faith. The truth is, faith is simply a sinner looking to Christ. This looking is the instrument of change.

So, to grow as a Christian this week, simply look to Christ. Many times we sin and repent, then sin again and figure 'what's the point?' 'I'm just going to do it again anyway.' That IS the point! You will sin again, probably sooner than later. But by looking to Jesus instead of ourselves to make things right, we exercise faith, which switches on the power of the Holy Spirit to work in our lives.

What area of your spiritual life are you trying rather than trusting God?
What would trusting God in this area do to your spiritual life?