Faith is a Muscle
THERE'S 2 WAYS YOUR FAITH GROWS
Atrophy
The phrase, "if you don't use it, you'll lose it" comes to mind. But when it comes to faith, I'm not referring to your faith in God for salvation. But in every other area, it will diminish if you don't use it.
ATROPHY
Disuse Atrophy is caused by not using your muscles enough. If you stop using your muscles, your body won’t waste the energy it needs to take care of them. Instead, your body will start to break your muscles down, which causes them to decrease in size and strength. The same goes with your faith.
If you don't use it, it will decrease. Now, we have all been given a measure of faith as the bible states in Romans 12:3. But what you do with that faith is up to you. If you never believe God to come through for something or use your faith to see a prayer answered for a friend or family member, it won't grow. Your faith will atrophy.
How Do I Grow My Faith?
1. The Word of God
One of the first verses I learned about faith as a little girl was Romans 10:17 - "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
I am so grateful for the church that I grew up in. There was always an emphasis on spending time in the word of God. My Pastor would always say, "Have a love affair with your Bible." Meaning, read it over and over, memorize it, ingest it, get it in you any way you can. The Bible is life for a believer. It is vital, it is necesarry! You will not grow spiritually if you're not spending time in the word. You have to know what God's word says in order to have faith, and thus growth will take place.
Let me put it to you this way: think of your physical body. In order for your body to have strength, to grow, to survive, you need to eat food. The same is true for your spirit. And the only thing your spirit feeds on is the word of God.
Find a verse for your need and speak that over your life. Confess God's word over your situation. Speak those verses out loud so your own ears can hear them. They will build faith in you.
Click this link for some Faith Confessions covering several areas that I believe will increase your faith. There are verses attached to each one that you can look up in your Bible. Spend time going over these verses.
Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." The word of God is powerful, my friends! So, get it in you. Because what you put in you, will come out of you.
Knowing what God's word says will also keep you from being deceived. Colossians 2:6-8 teaches us that.
2. Use it
When it comes to your muscles, the basis of seeing them grow, and their strength to increase, is when they are put under stress- when pressure is applied. The same is true for your faith. You have to use your faith if you want to see it grow. That goes hand-in-hand with spending time in God's word. Now that you know what the Bible says, it's time to put it into practice. 2 Corinthians 5:7 says, "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
We don't walk by feelings, we don't walk by circumstances, we walk by faith. And how do we walk by faith? According to what God's word says. There are going to be times when your faith will be tested. You will be put under pressure, especially when you can't see how a situation will turn around, or when you have a deadline for something to be paid and you still don't have the finances yet, or when the doctor's report came back even worse on your diagnosis, etc. This is where your faith has to kick in.
Another verse I learned early on about faith was Hebrews 11:1 - "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hope is the basis. Having hope is good. But we need to move from hope to faith. Faith is having the assurance of what God said.
So, get the word in you and put it into practice. Much like a muscle, if you don't use it, it will shrink. And if it's not tested, if pressure isn't applied, it won't grow either.
God is committed to your victory, friend. He is committed to your growth. But you do have a part to play as well.
For more in depth teaching check out my Pursuing God Under Pressure Online Course. Click the link below.
Written by:
Monique De Leon
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Hi there 👋 My name is Monique De Leon, and this is my Blog. Some of my favorite things are Jesus, travel, family, teaching, movies, board games and chocolate! :)
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