Have you ever felt like your personal faith has run out? At one point or another we all have really.
A battle of faith is actually a good sign in some ways because opposition always comes when you walk the right direction. But there's no denying that sometimes we just run out of faith. And as we fight on empty and we're just running on steam, we realise that there's one thing we badly need: a refill.
Sometimes the enemy tries to trick us into thinking that our faith is in short supply—that we cannot get a refill of faith. But that's not true. There's actually an abundant supply of faith that we can tap anytime.
Replenishing faith is a two-pronged paradox that we must come into terms with: While we have a personal responsibility of building our own faith, there's also an aspect to faith-building that only God can do for us.
It all starts with God's gift. Ephesians 2:8 tells us, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God."
A gift is something that we do not earn or pay for. It is freely given. God freely gives us faith as a gift based not on our own merit or understanding but based on His grace and generosity. God never bases the amount of faith that He gives you on how much money you've given to the church, how many times you sin or whether you know all the scriptures or not. He gives it based simply on how much of it you ask for.
This leads us to where we come in. While God does 99 percent of the work for us, we still have a part to play. God's not about to leave you without an opportunity to participate in His work.
The concept of grace always reminds me of the times I wash my car and my toddler asks to get involved. The reason why I let my daughter join me in washing the car isn't because I know she'll be good at it. In fact, I'm pretty sure she'll always slow me down. I do so because my allowing her participation gives me the delight of enjoying the process with her.
The same goes true for us when God calls us to build our faith. He does most of the work, but we have a part to play.
So what's our role in our personal faith building? Romans 10:17 says, "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ."
Just as Jesus Christ has made faith available through the word, our task is simply to ask and receive.
God is a loving Father who earnestly seeks for His children's requests, and as Jesus has promised whatever we ask for that's in line with God's will, will be received. It is undoubtedly God's will for us to walk in faith towards Him. As we ask for faith, God will give it to us today. Only then can we go back to fighting against unbelief and doubt.
