City Life Starter

I. The Word: Romans 10:17

17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

II. Reflection Questions

1. How easy is it for you to believe God for something? Do you feel that you can increase that belief?

2. What practical thing can you do to build your faith?

I have a love/hate relationship with working out. I was a dancer for most of my life, which I loved. I have taught dance, group fitness cardio, and yoga/pilates, which I also enjoyed immensely. But when it comes to just me working out on my own, I really struggle to find the motivation, discipline, and consistency to keep it going. I like the results of being healthy, I just don’t like doing the work. And let’s be honest- when I was younger I could basically eat whatever I wanted without much consequence, but as I’m getting older and have had three kids that’s just not the case anymore. The Lupe Tortilla calories just seem to count for more these days.

We are all born with the same set of muscles in our body, but the difference between my body and let’s say, Serena Williams, is what we put into our bodies, how we treat them, and what we do with the muscles we have. In my defense, if Serena lived in the food Mecca wonderland flowing with chips and guac like myself, maybe her waistline would feel the struggle, too.  Maybe not.  But to make myself feel better, I’ll just pretend like it would.

Faith is like a muscle. The Bible tell us that we are all given a measure of faith by God (Romans 12:3), just as we are born with muscles, but that doesn’t mean that muscle will automatically be strong and function like I need it to function. I think a mistake that is easy to make is to assume that the faith to believe God should/does come naturally just because we know God. And of course, the more we know and love Him, learn about His character and His promises, the easier it is to believe in Him and what He can/will do. But, the reality is we face things in life constantly that feel contrary to what we read about God and His promises, and that’s where the workout begins. We must actively contend for and exercise our faith, because if we don’t, the noise of this world, our own feelings and experiences, and the lies of the enemy will drown out what we know in our spirit to be true and that faith muscle will atrophy and not serve the body as intended. It’s a battle for who/what we will really believe and put our faith in.

So, how do we grow in our faith? How do we exercise that muscle? According to Romans 10:17, faith comes by hearing, and hearing the word of God. This is an active thing, not a passive thing. This implies that you have to position yourself to hear the word of God. This can come through different forms like your own Bible study time, hearing solid, biblical preaching (I know a great place where you can do that!), and even through scripture-based encouragement that comes from others when you are walking in community and spiritual family. But none of those scenarios will happen if you are just sitting around waiting for it to happen, and especially if you are filling your life with everything BUT the word of God. If you wake up in the morning and hear the voices in your head telling you that you are not good enough, you’ll never get that job or that relationship, or maybe you get that report back from the doctor that you didn’t want to hear, you have to go to battle using the word of God to speak the truth to yourself! In my own life, I have used methods like scripture written on cards and placed where I see them all of the time, listening to an audio Bible or teaching, and sometimes I just have to look at myself in the mirror and speak what God says about me or my circumstance out loud! The other noise all around me is real, the life circumstances we’ve faced/are facing can be intense, and all too easily my emotions will take over and try to lead me instead of the faith in my spirit that knows the truth. It’s a fight. But it’s a good fight. It’s making me stronger.

The good news is that as we do these things, that faith muscle will grow and the reality of  who God is and what He says can become bigger than what we are seeing with our eyes in the natural or the feelings we feel. But just as I can’t expect to be as fit as Serena if I’m just sitting watching her on TV while eating my chips and guac doing nothing, we cannot expect to have the kind of faith that can move mountains if we do not activate it by filling our minds and mouths with the Word of God.

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for giving us Your word so that we can know You, worship You, and stand on the promises You have given us in it. You are trustworthy, and I can put my faith in You to do what You said You will do. Help me in my doubt and unbelief to trust You more every day.