A Measure of Faith

Faith... Have Faith. Keep the faith. Walk by faith. Faith is knowing that something is going to happen, without having no way of knowing how it's going to happen. Faith can move mountains, right? With God, all things are possible. Nothing is too big for God... but that's for Billy Graham, right? Or Beth Moore? Or my preacher, or Sunday School teacher, or the little lady in church who has been a Christian forever that everyone asks to pray for them because she's got God on speed-dial. But for me? Imperfect, impatient me? How can faith be for me?

Well, it's simple, really. That's what is so cool about this whole relationship thing with God. Nothing hidden or secret. In Romans 12:3, we are told that every man is given a measure of faith. EVERY MAN... and woman. This means me. This means you. We're also told that without faith, it's impossible to please God. Now I don't know about you, but pleasing God is definitely something I am interested in. But having faith, and keeping faith, is something that so many of us struggle with, because we make it more complicated than what it really is. Our guidebook, the Bible, tells us that "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." So how do you get faith? Reading God's Word. Listening to it. Practicing it. Seeking His face and asking Him to give you Godly wisdom and knowledge.

Then...this is where our part comes in. Once you've got that Word embedded, and you understand it and think about it, you have to... ACT ON it. That's right. You have to step out in faith. Trusting God, even when you don't know how. It may mean a new job, or giving advice to a friend that you aren't sure about giving. Maybe it's trusting that He's going to take care of you when you lose your job or get scary news from the doctor. Acting on faith, though, means that we are on the offensive. We aren't just sitting there waiting for things to happen. We're researching options and looking for answers and MOVING. And when we move... God meets us there. He's already there, waiting, and has paved the path for us.
No matter how insignificant your life may seem, you can have that faith. Because God loves us no matter what. Jesus performed so many miracles in the Bible... these miracles were significant. The people He performed them for were significant, too... even though we don't even know their names. Yet Jesus took time for them... He thought they were worthy. Just like He thinks we are worthy. We just have to have faith to believe...


"Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace... The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him."- Romans 12:3, The Message