Building Muscles of Faith

1 Kings 18:22-36

"I wish I had great faith." These are words that almost every Christian has said at one time or another. But faith is like a muscle, which must be exercised in order to become strong; just wishing cannot make it happen.

Christians are to believe God, not only for salvation but for everything. Rather than a spiritual "plateau," faith is actually a process that involves increasing degrees of trust throughout life. Little faith hopes that God will do what He says; strong faith knows that He will; and great faith believes that He has already done it.

Elijah was a man of great faith. He saw increased challenges as opportunities for God to do His work—and the prophet believed Him for the supernatural. So can you. The Lord may not do every miraculous thing you ask of Him, but He does some extraordinary work in and through each person who is obedient and willing to trust in Him.

CAN WE LOSE OUR ABUNDANCE DURING A TESTING TIME?

Serge Roux-Levrat

Did you answer yes to the title question? Why? Is your Father in Heaven surrounded by less abundance while you go through a trial? No. Do you lose your adopted son or daughter-ship status when you navigate in rough seas? No. Does God love you less when you face tough challenges? No. So, why did you answer yes to my question then? The simple truth is that the devil can seek to steal everything from you (like he tried to with Job), but if you resist him by flexing your faith muscles, he cannot win.

If you have been born again, you are a child of God. As such you are rich beyond measure and can enjoy the abundant life that Jesus died for you to have. God has already given you a “Promised Land;” a land that lacks nothing and where everything exists in abundance. Yes, God’s plan for your life may require that you appear poor in the eyes of the world. However, do not make the mistakes of seeing yourself as a poor person, because you are wealthy beyond imagination.

→ Don't believe me? Then think about this: was Jesus poor or rich, living in abundance or in scarcity? Before you answer, let me give you a clue. Imagine that the world’s richest person decided to live one year with the poorest tribe on earth. And, in order to experience firsthand what they have to go through each day, he decides to take no money, no credit card, and no mobile phone with him. Put differently, he leaves all his material wealth to a steward to manage it. Now, while our richest man is in the “land” of poverty, is he rich or poor? Well, for the tribe he currently lives with, he is probably poor, as they do not know how wealthy he really is. But for the rest of the world, he is still the richest man on earth.