Easter was just a little over a month ago.  We celebrated our risen Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.  Those of us who have professed a hope in Christ agree that we BELIEVE!  We believe that God sent his son, Jesus, to die a substitutionary death for our sins.  We believe that Jesus was crucified, died, and was buried.  We believe that he rose on the third day with all power in his hand.  We believe that Jesus Christ is the only way to eternal life.  We believe that our salvation and eternity depends on our faith in Jesus Christ.  We truly believe. 

Or do we?

Our lives were changed once we believed.  The old things we used to do, we don’t do anymore.  Sure, we struggled for a moment with temptation (and still do sometimes), but our new nature won over the old sinful nature, and we began to mature in Christ.  But, if that is true, and we truly believe, why does our faith in God stop short of what we seek Him for in our daily lives?  Why do we believe in such an ancient and miraculous event as the resurrection, but falter on things we need today?  Perhaps it is a matter of faith.

We start out with a measure of faith, as Paul suggests in Romans 12:3.  But when the issues we face are seemingly too hard to imagine in our human minds, we begin to waver.  How, then do we grow this measure of faith into that strong, unwavering faith?  There are at least four things we can do:

1.) We can HEAR God’s Word.  If “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17), then we need to hear God’s Word.  I remember getting a call from a good friend at the sudden passing of her young husband.  She said she called, because she wanted to talk to someone who would “speak life” to her.  You cannot listen to all the naysayers and grow your faith!  You have to hear those promises in God’s Word that will encourage you!

2.) We can CHOOSE to believe God’s Word.  Sounds silly, perhaps, but just like we can choose to forgive, or to trust, or to love, we can choose to believe.  Finding a promise of God to stand on can help us with this.  There’s an old song, “God said it. I believe it” which reminds us to make the choice to believe every time doubt tries to creep in.  And every time you make that choice, your faith grows!

3.) We can TAKE HOLD of God’s Word.  This is a deliberate decision to keep our focus on God’s promises, no matter what the situation looks like.  It’s not easy, but it’s crucial to growing our faith.  “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” (Heb. 10:23). 

4.) We can ACT on God’s Word.   We know that “faith without works is dead” (James 2:17), but it is even harder to act out what we hear, choose, and take hold of.  But if we want that strong unwavering faith, it’s what must happen.  “Unwavering faith is to count those things that be not as though they are, (Rom.4:17; Mark 11:22-24). 

There is no need for us as believers to be trapped in fear, weakness, poverty, or despair during any situation. We must grow our faith.  We must truly believe!