Faith is a bit of a mystery.
We cannot have faith without belief in Him. Rather, it is impossible to do so, says our Father (Hebrews 11:6 NIV). And, faith can be elusive if not properly cared for.
Some of us carry it around as if it is a possession: Oh because of my faith, I am calm or if I didn’t have faith, I would have been a hot mess.
What about our personal relationship with Jesus? Let us not leave His powerful Name out.
When we walk intimately with Him, it is no longer I have faith, but I am abiding in Him who set me free, who changed my heart, who comforted me, who gave me courage, who led me to pray for …
When we abide in Jesus, we know that we know we have spiritual power, strength, wisdom, and even prophecy because of the Holy Spirit (also our Living God, Holy Spirit is not an it).
How do we increase our faith, and raise our belief in our triune God to new heights?
Peter reminds us:
“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires” (2 Peter 1:3-4).
We who have faith, who love and remain in Jesus, are fully welcome to participate in His righteousness, His goodness, and His resurrection power! Only a loving Father would say to His children come, let Me show you how to do this hard thing called life until I come to scoop you up and bring you back to Me.
Our God allows His wayward, stubborn, selfish daughters to receive a fresh anointing of peace in the midst of our troubled souls.
Then, without hesitation or rebuke, He gives us instruction:
“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge, and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness, and to godliness, mutual affection, and to mutual affection, love” (2 Peter 1:5-7).
Like any good Father, He desires His daughters to mature in faith, to grow up to be ALL He knows they can be. Much like when your dad removed your training wheels after years of teaching and helping you with skinned knees. Now, at the appointed time, with eager anticipation, he holds your bike steady while you climb aboard. With joy, he runs alongside until, covertly, he lets go to watch you soar on eagle’s wings.
“For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins” (2 Peter 1:8-9).
Faith is a supernatural gift that we must treasure like nothing else here on earth. Not your engagement diamond, not your time-share, not your Café Latte. We would not have faith if the Father did not draw us to Himself through the work of the Holy Spirit. By His infinite grace, we are brought into His Kingdom forever. Until we go to our eternal home, we have a responsibility to add to our initial faith in God. We seek His face. We deepen our understanding of His Scriptures. We spend precious alone time with our Lord and Savior, our Friend and Shepherd, our Physician and Teacher.
Each given day, we stand before His throne and proclaim like Nathaneal,
“Rabbi, You are the Son of God, the King of Israel” (John 1:49).
Julie Dibble is a servant of her Lord Jesus Christ. Together with her husband Jason, they have two sons, Braedon 17, and Jackson 15, and one rescued pup named Rocko. Julie preaches, writes, hikes, and prays for God to use her daily in this broken world. Currently, she is on staff at Newberrytown Church of God as Director of Outreach and Evangelism.
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