The other day while I was cutting grass, I started thinking. Something about sitting on a mower lets my mind wander. The thought that got my attention was how a lot of Christians have more faith in a grocery store than they do in God.
Think about it, people go into stores and almost always expect that food is just going to be there. We are not surprised and call our friends and tell them that the grocery store has food. No one goes home and journals about it or writes a song about it. We just EXPECT it. We have faith that it is just going to be there. When it comes to God, these same people come to Him hoping or wishing for something, but deep down they don’t expect it. They don’t believe for it, not to the level that they expect a grocery store to have food.
Then to compound the problem we make it worse by taking the same form of thinking about a store and try to apply it to God. Take out your grace credit cards or the card of good works and try to check yourself out.
In trying to do it all ourselves we are passing up on doing it God’s way. Let alone the fact that we are trying to buy things with our “own” works. Things that He wants to give us freely with faith.
In Matthew, the disciples asked Jesus about a fig tree he had spoken to, and it acted according to his words. Let us read his response. “And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen.” “And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” Matt:21:21-22 NASB 1995
Let’s unpack this. First, what is faith? Faith is like trust, if your good friend tells you they want to meet for lunch you believe them and head to the restaurant because you believe they will be there. You have to know someone before you can put your trust in them. The same goes for God. The Bible also says that every believer has been given a measure of faith. See Romans 12:13. So if you are born again you have the ability to use your faith.
And how do you start building your faith? Romans 10:17 NASB says. “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” So let’s get familiar with the author of the Bible. It’s called the living word for a reason, He is in it! Faith is grown in walking out your relationship with God. The same God who created you just as you are, desires a personal relationship with you.
We get a clear value God places on faith in “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6 NASB 1995
This brings us to the second part, about us trying to buy with our so-called built- up grace from “good works.” Sometimes we fall into the trap because I am a good person or do good things it will make God more likely to give me what I want. But in the verse above we can clearly see that it’s written, that without faith it is impossible to please God. Here is another verse talking about faith and works. Ephesian 2:9 NASB “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
So let’s take God at his word, He has given us faith. Let’s strive to use it the way it was designed to be, trusting in Him.
Originally published in the October 2021 issue of Breadstone Community.
