Any believer who's walked with the Lord for a considerable amount of time knows how important faith is to following Christ. More than just having an in-built vigour to endure storms and challenges, we need a clear vision of the object and person of our faith who is Jesus Christ Himself.
Hebrews 11:6 tells us, "And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." Given that we exist for God's honour and pleasure, it is an undeniable must that we grow in our faith as believers and followers of God.
But what does it take to increase your faith today? There are hundreds of books and thousands of articles that teach believers on how to grow in faith, but with all the best practices and lists, three things will always remain as essentials to growing in faith.
God's promise
Unless we know the promises of God, we will not know what to hold on to. Knowing the promises of God is important because the more we know God's promises, the more we will know about God's character and person. We learn about God's promises and God's character primarily through His word. That is why meditating on God's word is vital to growing in faith.
Psalm 34:8 says, "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!" When we read God's word, we get a glimpse of who He is and we taste His goodness.
An overwhelming crisis
The same way we practice skills and exercise our muscles to improve in sports and fitness, we also need to practice our faith skills and faith muscles as well to grow in the spirit. The only way we practice our faith is when it is tested. Not many of us see the importance of going through battles at the time, but know that afflictions are God's way of making you better.
Romans 5:3-4 says, "Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope." The character and hope produced by sufferings gives us genuine faith.
A heart rooted in Christ
Colossians 2:6-7 says, "Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving." We can experience as much crisis as we want and read God's word as often as we can, but unless we remain rooted in Jesus Christ, all these things will be in vain.
Jesus is the centre of our faith and life, and when anything aside from Him takes number one spot in our hearts, faith will not grow. When we do things for our own personal gain, we weaken our faith, but when we make everything we do about and for Jesus, then we know that our hope is planted firmly in Him and faith will grow.
