Two Ways God Grows My Faith

In Colossians 2:7 I read, “Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness." (NLT)

God doesn’t want me to have just any faith. He wants me to have a strong and vigorous faith; not a wimpy faith that collapses when things get tough.

The Bible says in Colossians 2:7, “Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness” (NLT).

How does God grow a strong faith?

The first way God grows my faith is through his Word. He wants me to know the Bible—to read the Bible, listen to the Bible, study the Bible, memorize the Bible, and talk about the Bible. Why? Because God’s Word says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17 NKJV).

If my faith is weak, I’m likely not in the Bible very often. But the more I’m in God’s book, the more it will feed my soul. God’s Word is soul food, and spending time in it is the easiest way to grow my faith.

The second way God grows my faith is the hard way, and that’s through circumstances that test me. While I may read the Bible only a little bit each day, I have things happening all around me 24 hours a day. My circumstances are what God most often uses to grow my faith and build my character.

Faith is like a muscle. I don’t grow muscle without some sort of resistance. The only way I grow a muscle is by stretching it, testing it, and putting weight on it. The same is true with faith. I don’t grow faith just by sitting around and saying, “Oh, I want more faith.” Faith needs to be tested. So God allows circumstances in my life to build my faith muscle.

Because God cares so much about my faith, I can know that he will always answer this prayer: “Increase our faith” (Luke 17:5 NIV). Make that my prayer as God grows my faith through his Word and through circumstances that test me.

In summary, I need to let my roots grow down into him, and let my life be built on him. Then my faith will grow strong in the truth, and I will overflow with thankfulness. God wants me to have a strong and vigorous faith; not a wimpy faith that collapses when things get tough. So how does God grow a strong faith in me? The first way is through his Word. He wants me to know the Bible; to read, listen, study, memorize, and talk about the Bible. God’s Word says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”. If my faith is weak, I’m likely not in the Bible very often. But the more I’m in God’s book, the more it will feed my soul. God’s Word is soul food, and spending time in it is the easiest way to grow my faith. The second way is the hard way, and that’s through circumstances that test me. I have things happening all around me 24 hours a day. My circumstances are what God most often uses to grow my faith and build my character. Faith is like a muscle. I don’t grow muscle without some sort of resistance. I grow a muscle by stretching it, testing it, and putting weight on it. The same is true with faith. Faith needs to be tested. So God allows circumstances in my life to build my faith muscle. I know that he will always answer this prayer: “Increase my faith”. Make that my prayer as God grows my faith through his Word and through circumstances that test me.

Receiving Christ as Lord of my life was the beginning of life with Christ. But I must continue to follow his leadership by being rooted, built up, and strengthened in the faith. Christ wants to guide me and help me with my daily problems. I can live for Christ by (1) committing my life and submitting my will to him. (2) Seeking to learn from him, his life, and his teachings. (3) Recognizing the Holy Spirit's power in me. Just as plants draw nourishment from the soil through their roots, so we draw our life giving strength from Christ. The more I draw my strength from him, the less I will be fooled by those who falsely claim to have life's answers. If Chris is my strength, I will be free from human regulations. 

Trust God to Keep His Promises

In Job 23:12 I read, “I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread." (NIV)

Admitting my hopelessness to God can be a statement of faith. Trusting God but feeling despair at the same time, David wrote, “I believed, so I said, ‘I am completely ruined’” (Psalm 116:10 NCV).

This sounds like a contradiction: I trust God, but I’m wiped out! David’s frankness actually reveals deep faith. First, he believed in God. Second, he believed God would listen to his prayer. Third, he believed God would let him say what he felt and still love him.

Regardless of my circumstances and how I feel, hang on to God’s unchanging character. Remind myself of what I know to be eternally true about God: He is good, he loves me, he is with me, he knows what I’m going through, he cares, and he has a good plan for my life. The late Raymond Edman, who was president of Wheaton College, once said, “Never doubt in the dark what God told you in the light.”

When Job’s life fell apart and God was silent, Job still found reasons to praise God. I can praise God for these same reasons:

He is good and loving. (Job 10:12)

He is all-powerful. (Job 42:2; 37:5, 23)

He notices every detail of my life. (Job 23:10; 31:4)

He is in control. (Job 34:13)

He has a plan for my life. (Job 23:14)

He will save me. (Job 19:25)

During times of spiritual dryness, patiently rely on the promises of God, not my emotions. And realize that he is taking me to a deeper level of maturity, because a friendship based on emotion is shallow.

So I won't be troubled by trouble. Circumstances cannot change the character of God. God’s grace is still in full force; he is still for me, even when I don’t feel it. In the absence of confirming circumstances, Job held on to God’s Word. He said, “I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread” (Job 23:12 NIV).

This trust in God’s Word caused Job to remain faithful even though nothing in his life made sense. His faith remained strong in the middle of pain, and God honored and restored Job because of it.

In summary, do not depart from His commands; instead treasure His words more than my daily bread. Admitting my hopelessness to God can be a statement of faith. Trusting God, but feeling despair. This sounds like a contradiction: I trust God, but I’m wiped out! David’s frankness actually reveals deep faith. First, he believed in God. Second, he believed God would listen to his prayer. Third, he believed God would let him say what he felt and still love him. Regardless of my circumstances and how I feel, hang on to God’s unchanging character. Remind myself of what I know to be eternally true about God: He is good, he loves me, he is with me, he knows what I’m going through, he cares, and he has a good plan for my life. When Job’s life fell apart and God was silent, Job still found reasons to praise God. I can praise God for these same reasons:

He is good and loving. (Job 10:12)

He is all-powerful. (Job 42:2; 37:5, 23)

He notices every detail of my life. (Job 23:10; 31:4)

He is in control. (Job 34:13)

He has a plan for my life. (Job 23:14)

He will save me. (Job 19:25)

So during times of spiritual dryness, learn to patiently rely on the promises of God, and not my emotions. Realize that he is taking me to a deeper level of maturity. So don't be troubled by trouble. Circumstances cannot change the character of God. God’s grace is still in full force; he is still for me, even when I don’t feel it. In the absence of confirming circumstances, Job held on to God’s Word. This trust in God’s Word caused Job to remain faithful even though nothing in his life made sense. His faith remained strong in the middle of pain, and God honored and restored Job because of it. 

God Wants Me to Do, Not Just to Hear

In James 1:22 I read, “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (ESV)

God wants me to focus on doing what he tells me to do, not on just hearing what he tells me to do. He calls me to be an active follower of Jesus, not just a passive listener.

The Bible says, “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22 ESV).

The truth is, I can listen to sermons and study the Bible for decades. But if I never do anything about what I’ve heard and learned, I’m deceiving myself and not really growing more like Christ.

D.L. Moody, an influential evangelist and Christian educator of the late 19th century, once said, “The Bible was not given to increase our knowledge, but to change our lives.” It’s a manual for living.

The Bible says, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NKJV).

That verse points to four things about God’s Word. It shows me the path to walk on; that’s doctrine. It shows me where I got off the path; that’s reproof. It shows me how to get back on the path; that’s correction. And it shows me how to stay on the path; that’s instruction in righteousness. God’s Word is practical, real-world truth.

The problem is, I know a lot more than I actually put into practice. I say I believe in forgiveness, but do I forgive the people who’ve hurt me? I say I believe in waiting on God, but am I patient? God doesn’t want me to just take notes and say I believe things about his Word. He wants me to be a doer of his Word.

Jesus said in Matthew 28:20: “Teach them to do everything I have commanded you” (GW). He didn’t say, “Teach them to know everything I commanded you” or “Teach them to think about everything I commanded you.” He said, “Teach them to do.”

I shouldn’t fool myself into thinking that hearing God’s Word also means I’m applying God’s Word. Make plans to do something about what I hear so that I can grow into the person God created me to be.

In summary, I need to be a doer of the word, and not just hear, deceiving my self. God wants me to focus on doing what he tells me to do, not on just hearing. He calls me to be an active follower of Jesus, not just a passive listener. I can listen to sermons and study the Bible for decades. But if I never do anything about what I’ve heard and learned, I’m deceiving myself and not really growing more like Christ. The Bible was not given to increase my knowledge, but to change my life. God’s Word shows me the path to walk on; that’s doctrine. It shows me where I got off the path; that’s reproof. It shows me how to get back on the path; that’s correction. And it shows me how to stay on the path; that’s instruction in righteousness. I know a lot more than I actually put into practice. Do I forgive the people who’ve hurt me? Am I patient? God doesn’t want me to just take notes and say I believe things about his Word. He wants me to be a doer of his Word. Jesus said: “Teach them to do everything I have commanded you”. He didn’t say, “Teach them to know'' or “Teach them to think about.” He said, “Teach them to do.” I shouldn’t fool myself into thinking that hearing God’s Word also means I’m applying God’s Word. Make plans to do something about what I hear so that I can grow into the person God created me to be.

It is important to listen to what God's Word says, but it is much more important to obey it and do what it says. I can measure the effectiveness of my quiet time by the effect it has on my behavior and attitude. Am I putting into action what I have studied?