What does it take to have a strong faith?
Written by KaylaJayne
Having a strong faith is what everyone in the Christian life is searching for, right? But, what does that mean? What does it look like to have a strong faith? How do you get to the point of having a strong faith? How do you know when you’ve gotten there? Let’s take a look at each of these questions with a biblical perspective.
First, let’s take a look at some verses:
- James 1:2-4
- 1 Chronicles 16:11
- 2 Timothy 1:7
- Isaiah 10:31
- Hebrews 12:2
- 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
- Romans 8:28
- Isaiah 53:5
We are going to answer these questions (not necessarily in the following order):
- How do I strengthen my faith?
- What does it mean to have a strong faith?
- What does faith in God look like?
- Why is faith important?
- How does faith help in my trials?
If you are looking to use this devotional for a group conversation time, I advise you to have the participants look up the verses before talking about the questions.
What does having faith in God look like?
It can be difficult to grasp the concept of “faith in God” unless we understand what “faith” means.
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. – Hebrews 11:1
In other words, faith is believing that what you hope for/in is there. Even though you haven’t seen it, you trust that it’s there, or real.
Take the wind, for example, you can’t see it, can you? But do you trust that the wind exists?
That’s faith.
So, “faith in God” simply means believing that He is Who He says He is, and will do what He says He will.
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. – Hebrews 11:6
Why is faith important?
Take another look at Hebrews 11:6 just before this question…
Now, what does that say about the importance of faith?
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. – Ephesians 2:8-9
Faith is the entirety of what life as a Christian is built on.
Without faith, what would Christianity be? We wouldn’t be called believers, would we?
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. – Galatians 2:20
Faith is what makes us believers. Without faith, we cannot be saved.
What does it
mean to have a
strong faith?
Having a strong faith simply means that no matter what you go through, you cling to the hope that God is there and that God is moving.
Let me be clear here though – strong faith does NOT mean never being afraid or giving into anxious feelings, etc. Strong faith is more simple that a list of “nevers” or “nots”.
Strong faith is going through something and expecting God to move. Watching for where you can see His hand even in the darkest of trials, or the most mundane of days. Knowing He is there fighting your battle, and guiding your life.
Pressing forward in the middle of the toughest circumstances and looking for where God is moving, or how He will use this in the future is the crux of a strong faith.
How does faith help in my trials?
Faith moves us forward. Faith keeps us looking up. Having faith can change your attitude from gloom to hope because you know that God is there in the middle of your trial. Remembering also that trials are not bad. They might be hard, but hard is not always bad. Bad gives the idea that there is no hope which is false. God is our hope.
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. – James 1:2-4
Trials test our faith and the testing of our faith produces steadfastness…Do you see the cycle of trials and faith? We can be thankful for our trials because we know that God is using them to mold us into being more like Christ.
How do I strengthen my faith?
You strengthen your faith by practicing.
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead. – James 2:14-26
Faith is practiced by doing the hard things that God has called you to do. Maybe it’s giving something up, maybe it’s going against what everyone else thinks, maybe it’s speaking up for something that you see other people doing wrong. Whatever it is, following in faith is always going to require a sacrifice. But that sacrifice is going to be rewarded tenfold in the end.
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