Faith is not supposed to be still but moving. Faith is not a museum piece to show off before others, but a living thing meant to be active and growing in your life. True faith will look different now than it did a year ago in your life.
You cannot grow in your faith and remain as you are. “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV).
When our faith is alive, then the Word of God comes alive, and our faith will grow even higher. We are meant to grow in our faith each day because there is a height that we are meant to go towards. We can never reach the top, but we must never stop trying to go as high as God would take us.
Not even the mountains can say “no” to a man or a woman who has faith. “Jesus replied, ‘Listen to the truth. If you have no doubt of God’s power and speak out of faith’s fullness, you can be the ones who speak to a tree and it will wither away. Even more than that, you could say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and be thrown into the sea’ and it will be done. Everything you pray for with the fullness of faith you will receive!’” (Matthew 21:21-22 TPT).
Recently the Holy Spirit poured these words into me as I was driving. I recorded them and have them written below. I added a few verses in red, I always love to confirm what I hear with the Word.
- It’s not enough to see the gaps you need to fill; you need to fill them. It’s not enough to know where you’re wrong; you need to be made right. It’s not enough to be inspired to be something more; you need to do it. “You are living a brand new kind of life that is continually learning more and more of what is right, and trying constantly to be more and more like Christ who created this new life within you” (Colossians 3:10 TLB).
- Learning a doctrine is good; living it is better. You’d be better off living one doctrine than knowing ten and not doing anything about them. “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves” (James 1:22 NLT).
- Be willing to let God change your life, and then He will. Learn to change. If we’re not changing, then what’s the point? What are we doing? “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13 NLT).
- God wants you to step into who He made you to be. You can be more than you are. You were meant for something more. Step into that. “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9 NKJV).
Your faith is a journey, and the path is never straight and easy. There are hills and valleys and many obstacles along the way. There are times you will trip and fall, but you must always get right back up and keep going. The hard times are the lessons meant to teach you.
It does not matter as much how many times you fall but how many times you get back up. “Though a righteous man falls seven times, he will get up, but the wicked will stumble into ruin” (Proverbs 24:16 HCSB).
You cannot learn to have more faith, nor can it be gained through any program. Faith is a gift from God, and it is given to those willing to receive it. A greater faith can only be received in humility and dependency on God, who gives it to those who are ready.
Faith is not a prize but a gift. You cannot earn faith but only receive it. “…God has dealt to each one a measure of faith” (Romans 12:3 NKJV).
The more faith God pours into a man or woman, the more faith that will emanate from their lives. Those with a greater faith have a lower posture before others because they realize how low they truly are in comparison to our God, who reigns in heaven.
To go higher in your faith, you must become lower in yourself. “Therefore humble yourselves [demote, lower yourselves in your own estimation] under the mighty hand of God, that in due time He may exalt you” (1 Peter 5:6 AMPC).
When faith fills you, then faith pours out from you on those who are all around you. Your faith will lift the faith of others as they witness what a greater faith can be. When you have a full faith, it will spill over and begin to affect the faith that is found in those who know you.
Faith stirs up faith. Peter had faith Tabitha could be raised from the dead, and his faith stirred up faith in others. “Then he gave her his hand and lifted her up …he presented her alive. And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed on the Lord” (Acts 9:41-42 NKJV).
Faith produces fruit, and it is the fruit that proves the faith you have. Your faith is not meant to lift you higher but to lift others higher so that they can walk in the greater faith you were given. Bow low before God so that He can lift you before others where you can then lift them up to God.
Jesus never said you would discern others by their gifts but by their fruits. “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Therefore by their fruits you will know them” (Matthew 7:18,20 NKJV).
Faith produces miracles. The height of your faith is the height that you pray to with confidence that God can do it. Your faith is meant to be more than a trinket, or an admiral trait seen by others. It is meant to heal the sick, give hope to the lost, and bring restoration to the broken.
I don’t need to prove my prayers can bring healing, but only have faith that His power can. “If you have faith when you pray for sick people, they will get well. The Lord will heal them, and if they have sinned, he will forgive them.” (James 5:15 CEV).
Blessings to you,
Paul Balius