got faith?

Every now and then I get folks who come to me and say something like this.  “Preacher, I wish I had more faith.”  It’s a great desire isn’t it… the desire for more faith?  What if we all had a little more faith?  Couldn’t we do so much more?  Wouldn’t we be so much closer to the Lord?  Who couldn’t use a little more faith?

 

All right, I’ll let you in on a little secret… one that I’m still learning… faith doesn’t just happen.  God doesn’t just swish his magic wand and ‘poof’ we’ve got it.  He doesn’t just FedEx more of it down from Heaven and deliver it to our doorstep.  Faith doesn’t come about by accident and nobody gets it without wanting it.  No.  The Bible tells us that faith comes by hearing the Word of God.  That’s what Paul tells the Christians at Rome in Romans 10:17.  He tells them that if they want salvation, they must believe.  In other words, they must have faith.  And that faith doesn’t just come from thin air… it comes as one hears the Word of God.

 

So, the next time somebody says to me, “Preacher, I just need a little more faith” I am going to ask them how much time they are spending in God’s Word.  I have been trying to spend more time in the Bible this year as we have been reading it from “Cover to Cover” and so far I can tell you that it works!  I still don’t feel that I am where I ought to be in my spiritual growth and I sure don’t have the faith that I should have… but the daily exercise of spending more time in God’s Word has certainly caused me to grow.  Seeing the narrative of God’s story play out from creation and the fall of man to His seeking reconciliation through the covenant and the law has challenged me.  I’ve seen things in the story that I’ve never seen before and I’ve been challenged by things that have not caught me in the same way before.  My faith has been stretched, challenged and strengthened through it all.

 

What about you?  Have you taken up our challenge to read the Bible thru this year?  If not, are you still spending time each day in God’s Word?  I’ll tell you that there is nothing you can do that will increase your faith more than hearing God in His Word.  Couldn’t we all use a little more of that?