Step 1:
How to get faith if we don’t have it:
There have been times in my walk with God where I lacked faith in certain areas, and there were also times when my faith completely failed. I felt led by the Holy Spirit to mention this, because perhaps others may have gone through a similar experience. God in His mercy and lovingkindness helped me every single time, and I know that He will help you too. The bible tells us that there is a way to get faith if we don’t have it:
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Romans 10:17 NKJV
Faith comes by hearing the word of God. The “word of God” in this Scripture is actually referring to the “rhema” – meaning the spoken word of God. The word “Rhema” is best understood as an utterance, or the spoken Word of God which comes to us through the Holy Spirit. The written Word of God will be quickened by the Holy Spirit with the purpose of producing faith in those areas which may be lacking. We gratefully thank and praise God, because He alone gives us the faith we need and He also brings our faith to perfection or maturity.
Looking unto Jesus, the author (originator) and finisher (perfector) of our faith.
Hebrews 12:2 NKJV
At this point, may I kindly encourage you to ask God for an area in your life where you are needing to grow your faith, so that you can apply the principles outlined in this blog to your current situation. My hope is that as you apply these lessons to your current situation, God will give you the faith you need to overcome every obstacle or area of weakness, and see His promises materialize in your life. Once you have asked God for the area you need to grow your faith, may I kindly encourage you to then ask Him for a specific Scripture to give you the faith you need. You may want to make a note of this somewhere so that in time you can go back and see how faithful God has been.
Step 2:
Faith must be confessed
Confess or confession means to say the same as. For us as believers in Jesus, confession means that we say the same as what God has said in His written Word. When we need help or encouragement, the Holy Spirit will quicken the Word of God (meaning that He brings the written Word of God to life). The Holy Spirit can speak to us when we seek Jesus is prayer, or when we read His Word, or we may even get a word of encouragement from another believer. We will know that God is speaking to us, because the Word we get will be an answer to our prayer and it will speak directly to our hearts. We will just know that God is speaking to us, and we can receive His words with thanksgiving. Once we have received a Word from Jesus through His Holy Spirit, our job is to come into agreement with His Word through faith. We make our confession of faith, meaning that we make the words of our mouth agree with the Word of God and we speak it into existence, fully trusting that God will establish His Word.
You will also declare a thing, and it will be established for you; so light will shine on your ways.
Job 22:26 NKJV
So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void (empty or without fruit), but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
Isaiah 55:11 NKJV
The Epistle to the Hebrews tells us that Jesus is the High Priest of our confession.
Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 3:1 NKJV
We know that Jesus is the only mediator between God and man, and that He always lives to make intercession for us (Hebrews 7:25). If we make our confession in faith, we know that He is faithful to deliver on His promises to us. The confession of our faith should always be based upon His Word, as well as the leading from the Holy Spirit.
Step 3:
Holding fast the confession of our faith
Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
Hebrews 4:14 NKJV
From the time that God makes us a promise until the time that His promise comes into fulfillment, there will most likely be a waiting period which could span from several days, to weeks, months or even years. It is during this time of waiting that we will have to hold fast the confession of our faith. During this time, we will most likely go through seasons of testing. In other words, our faith will be tested.
My faith has been tested many times over the last few years, and one of the most challenging aspects of having our faith tested, is the waiting. Patiently waiting on God to deliver on His promises while we endure challenges, hardships and difficulties can be very trying. But this is God’s way of refining our character so that we look more like our Beloved Jesus. God also uses this process to teach us patience and endurance.
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials (or temptations), knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience (endurance or perseverance). But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect (spiritually mature) and complete, lacking nothing.
James 1:2-3 NKJV
Step 4:
Holding fast our confession without wavering
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
Hebrews 10:23 NKJV
In this step, you will notice that hope is included, because faith and hope must always work together. We should choose to believe that God in His faithfulness will fulfill every promise to us. Our job is to hold fast our confession of faith, in hope (a confident expectation) that God will be true to His Word.
During this time, Satan the adversary will try to bring doubt. I have learned from various teachings, as well as personal experience that we absolutely cannot entertain doubt. As soon as we entertain doubt, the next downward step is unbelief, and once unbelief has taken root in our heart, the final downward step is disobedience. Therefore we have to push doubt far away from us, it’s a battle of determination and endurance.
The good news is that God is with us every step of the way to help us. As soon as doubt enters our minds, we can call on Jesus to give us an escape. God is faithful, He always comes through. He will confirm His Word and His promises to us in the way He chooses, and when He does, we will have His perfect peace in our minds and in our hearts.
Remember that faith and sight are opposites, just as hope and sight are opposites. In our current situation, it may look impossible for God to fulfill His promises, but that’s exactly why we need hope (a confident expectation) and faith (the substance of things hoped for) until such time as His Word comes into fulfillment. God wants us to choose to trust Him even when we don’t understand and when we can’t see what He is doing. He knows what is best for us and we need to trust in His perfect timing.
The last Scripture on this point (holding fast our confession) which I would like to share, is from the story of Abraham and how God promised him a son. Abraham had to wait 25 years for God to fulfill this promise, but look what the Scripture tells us about Abraham’s hope and faith:
(Abraham) who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waiver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.
Romans 4:18-21 NKJV
My prayer for you this week is that God will strengthen your faith while you patiently wait on Him.
Blessings in Jesus wonderful name.