Faith Check

Dear diary,

If I had to use one word that encompassed the current season of my life, I would have to use the word faith. According to Hebrew 11:1, “Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.” As believers, we eat, live, and breathe faith. It is through faith that we receive our salvation. But what happens to our faith when it comes to believing in a promise that God gave us?

In times when we may be running low on faith, it is good to do what I like to call faith checks. A faith check is when I remind myself about all the wonderful things of God in order to restore or re-up on my faith.

Faith Checks:

Understand that your faith helps in spiritual battles

The first thing you have to understand about your faith is that it's much more spiritual than you think. In order to defend your faith, you need the word of God. The Bible is very clear that when you have fiery darts of the enemy coming at you, you have to defend yourself with your shield of faith. If we are low on faith, it can leave us in a very detrimental state. As soon as we realize this, we will know how to combat it.

"In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil."

Ephesians 6:16

Remind yourself of who God is

Sometimes when we get so caught up in the stresses of this world that don't matter, that we find ourselves forgetting how great God really is. He is the Alpha and the Omega. We serve a God that cannot be matched. Nothing is too hard for him. My favorite verses that serve as reminders for me are found in Isaiah 40:12-31. Think of all your past testimonies and feel free to watch other believers testimonies online. After this revelation, ask God to never let you forget who he is and thank him for what he has done.

"Who else has held the oceans in his hand? Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers? Who else knows the weight of the earth or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?"

Isaiah 40:12

Ask God to help you with your lack of faith

God wants you to be strong in your faith. I love how when Jesus healed many people, he would often say things along the lines of "your faith has healed you". When you feel like you've tried your best to push your faith as far as it can go, ask the Holy Spirit, our helper, to help with our lack of faith. There was a story in the book of Mark chapter 9 where a father's belief came into question when his son's deliverance was on the line. It was not until he cried out to Jesus to help his unbelief, that his son was delivered. Don't be afraid to ask God to strengthen your faith.

"The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!"

Mark 9:24

Remove things that can hinder our faith

If God gave you a word or a promise, keep your focus on God, not on things that will not hinder your belief in that promise. If you are surrounding yourself with unbelieving people that are speaking against that promise, don't be surprised when seeds of doubt start to creep in. God is a limitless God, and when we surround ourselves with people, media, sins, and things that are only exposed to possible things, it can limit our faith.

Surround yourselves with people and things that will encourage you in the Lord. Keep your focus on Jesus, the perfecter of our faith. Peter was walking on water until he started focusing on the wrong things. As soon as he took his eyes off of Christ, the impossible stopped and the possible took over. As long as you continue to stay zoned into our Lord and Savior, we will continue to walk in the impossible.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."

Hebrews 12:1-2

We must make a lifestyle of faith. With faith, doors that were shut can be opened, the impossible becomes possible, and we walk in trusting God. We are able to live an extraordinary life with faith. It's not uncommon for us to struggle with our faith, but we must not waver. We must use the tools God gave us to equip ourselves for situations such as this. Don't falter in your faith; grow in it.

Thank you, Jesus, for you are the founder and perfecter of our faith. I pray that we may not waiver in our faith. Lord forgive us if we forget how mighty you are. Thank you that your mercies are new everyday. I give you all the glory and honor. Amen.

- xoxo God's Girl