You would be hard pressed to find a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ that doesn’t long in their hearts to know more about getting answers to prayer. It’s true! We love other people and want the best for them. We pray for God’s people all over the world, and try to live right and honor Him, but there’s a few things we really desire for ourselves. There are prayer requests that we’ve brought before the Lord, and we’re not seeing any significant movement. We feel stuck. Some would say that our faith isn’t where it needs to be. Others might say that something in our walk with Christ isn’t on point and that this is holding us back. We’ve bought books on it, listened to folks preach about it numerous times, and tried our hardest to figure this thing out; but something is missing. We’re still not vibing in the faith the way we used to, and we don’t have a clue how to bring that zeal and excitement back into our lives.
Reclaiming the faith we once had is a worthy mission, but Proverbs 4:7 reminds us to get wisdom first, and in all our getting get understanding as well. So, it is critically important that we start by recognizing and understanding certain patterns that God has put in place for our learning. One of those patterns has to do with growth. Heavenly Father created time for our benefit and His pleasure. The element of time allows the growth process to beautifully unfold. We see this very clearly in all of nature. Flowers begin with a seed, and with the proper nutrients from the sun and soil, they will grow and ultimately blossom.
God didn’t create flowers with the capacity to skip the growth process, but as Ecclesiastes 3:1(NLT) tells us, “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.” It is the same with us. Our growth is important to Heavenly Father, and His number one goal is to see us grow in Christ. He doesn’t rush us but allows us to take baby steps. When we are new in the faith, we make lots of mistakes and missteps, and He extends a tremendous amount of grace. We are shielded from certain things by God, just as parents shield their infant children, but as with every season, this infant stage of believing will end.
Faith is something many of us take for granted. God’s Word tells us that He’s dealt every person a measure of faith, and this is something that is baked in. There isn’t anything any living human being can accomplish without faith. It takes faith to put one foot in front of the other and walk. Most of us don’t give this a second thought. We simply get up whenever we tire of sitting, and move from one place to the next, seemingly effortlessly. We take walking for granted, just as we take the faith to walk for granted. It is important to note from this example and many others, that when we need to draw upon faith, it is always there. If you are a reasonably healthy person with the operational capacity to walk, you do not need someone to tell you that you have legs and that you can walk; you simply get it done.
If someone tells you, however, that you must run a 5 mile marathon in less than 50 minutes, and you’ve never ran a marathon before, it stands to reason that your faith is going to receive a workout; and so will your physical body. You’re going to have to train and build up your endurance, so you’ll be prepared to run your race. Often, many of us cling to the infant stage of believing and there we stay, hoping that nothing in life challenges us to grow up and grab on to that next level of faith. Training for a marathon is synonymous with life. If we have not sufficiently trained to keep pace, life will pass us by and so will the blessings we could have received.
Emotional exhaustion, sadness, discouragement, doubt, and disappointment are just a few of the symptoms we experience when our faith muscle has been allowed to become flaccid. Life by God’s design is a dynamic reality. Nothing ever stays the same and as believers, we will most definitely face seasons that challenge and press us to engage the process of growth. What does this mean? Engaging the process of growth means that we must trust and believe wholeheartedly three extremely impactful and beneficial truths.
The first is the reality that God’s Word is true, and we can’t second guess it or put our own spin on it. This is what caused Adam and Eve to fall, and it will cause us to fall as well. We must believe God’s Word wholeheartedly, and we must love Him with all our hearts, minds, souls, and strength through the Lord Jesus Christ. We must trust in God’s goodness and we must believe 1John 1:5 when it tells us that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. He holds the highest, greatest, and happiest vision of Himself continually, and in Ephesians 2:10, He call us, you and I, His masterpieces. We are His finest work; therefore, we have no other choice but to conclude that He holds the highest, greatest, happiest vision of us as well. He looks at us and sees His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.
Jesus is the living Word of God, and the more we believe and trust in the Son, the more we can become like him. The more we become like Jesus Christ, the more we are better able to walk in greater faith.
The second truth is the reality that God is the One with the plan for our lives. James 1:5(NIV) tells us, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” Often, we become arrogant in our own knowledge, and refuse or neglect to surrender in humility to God’s omnipotence and omniscience. We were created to partner with Him, and this partnership requires us to be led. We are FOLLOWERS of the Lord Jesus Christ. We would do well to ask God to give us a vision or word of knowledge regarding His plan for our lives, and then begin to line up our faith with the vision we have received. GOD is the ONE with the vision. He’s the ONE with the plan. We must follow after the revelation we have received from Him. This kind of humility does wonders for our faith and confidence, for no greater confidence can be achieved than that of receiving knowledge directly from the Spirit of Christ, and then seeing the manifestation of the vision unfold as we pursue it.
The third is the reality that we cannot continue being who we’ve always been. The commandment of the Lord in Ephesians 4:22-23(NIV) is, “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds;” This truly embodies the growth process. It would not be mature for us to ask God for greater blessings without also acknowledging that greater blessings will require us to change.
There are some things that we are carrying internally and externally, like attitudes, behaviors, relationships, attachments, and habits. We will not be able to move up with all of this weighting us down. Some aspect of our former way of life must be surrendered and released, so that God’s love can occupy the space we’re now subletting to fear and doubt. If you have no idea what this is, ask the Lord. Ask Him for wisdom regarding what you should release, so that you will not only reclaim the zeal and enthusiasm you once had, but you’ll open the door to even greater faith and to the blessings you desire most. ■
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Reclaiming Your Faith” written by Reverend Fran Mack, edited by Kim Times for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2020. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.