Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses (1 Timothy 6:12).
Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes (Mark 9:23).
While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18).
For we live by believing and not by seeing (2 Corinthians 5:7 – NLT).
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours (Mark 11:24-ESV).
Faith is so important in our lives, for without it we just won’t be able to receive from the Lord. The necessity of faith is mentioned often in the New Testament and was clearly demonstrated by Jesus in His earthly ministry.
We are admonished over and over to walk by faith and not by sight or feeling. It’s important to be practical with yourself when approaching the subject of faith and how to integrate it into your life. The key to growing faith is to build it up daily by meditation in the Word and by putting it into practice in the daily affairs of life.
One statement that I make regularly in teaching on this subject is that faith is for what you don’t yet physically have but has been promised to you by the Lord. Jesus said that we are to believe we receive the answer to our prayer before we tangibly see it in manifestation. If we do this then the answer will materialize (Mark 11:24).
An important point in this is to start small with your faith. Start believing for a raise on your job. Believe God to heal an ache in your body that you’ve experienced for a while. Believe you receive healing from a headache, from a cold, from a stomach virus, from a skin rash or from warts. Believe God for a certain amount of money to pay a bill or to give into a ministry.
The idea here is to start small with small things with your faith. Believe that you receive even though nothing you can see has changed. When it comes to pass, then your confidence in exercising faith will increase, and you’ll gradually be able to believe for greater things.
Jerry Savelle came to the first Bible school that I attended in my hometown in the 1970’s. He taught us on faith and encouraged us students to believe God for small things. He made an impression on me when he told us that he believed God for a new pen, or for a pair of socks, a new suit, or a new pair of shoes. He exercised his faith for everything in his life, even the small things. This made a lasting impression on me and helped me to understand that if I’m going to live a faith lifestyle, then I’m going to have to start in the small things.
Faith is built up a little at a time. Jesus said, For the earth brings forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear (Mark 4:28). A corn stalk starts as a seed, grows into a tall plant, then bears fruit. That’s the way faith works. It starts small and increases in size and strength.
When Susan and I moved to Oklahoma to attend Rhema Bible College in 1980, I chose to exercise my faith to receive a job in a grocery store. The store chain offered amazing salaries, which in today’s dollars would translate into pay of over $24.00 and hour! For me as a 21 year old, that was a lot! I ask God, and then I believed that I received the job.
For two months I thanked and praised God just as though I had the job. I put feet on my prayers by going weekly to all twenty or so stores in the Tulsa area owned by the supermarket chain and inquiring about a position with them and talking to the store managers. I was told repeatedly that nothing was available, and that I had to start at the bottom and work my way up.
Everyday I would praise and thank God for my new job with that grocery store chain. To make a long story short, the job came available to me. What seemed impossible happened! I got the job, and I was able to fund our time at school and do well financially.
I learned an important lesson on what it takes to walk by faith during that time in my life. And since then, God has proven Himself faithful to His word to me over and over again. It’s been an exciting journey to walk with God by faith all these years.
Make a decision that you will be a person who chooses to walk by faith. Begin today to exercise your faith in the small things in life. If you do, then when crisis time comes, or when someone needs you in an emergency, you’ll be prepared to exercise your faith. If you wait to get faith when you need it, you’ll be at a great disadvantage. Do your homework now and exercise faith for small things. You’ll then be prepared for the tests that will come in your future. God will show Himself faithful to you.
Let’s remember today that all things are possible with God, and all things are possible to him who believes.