How can I tell my faith is weak?
Recently I had the question, how can I tell if my faith is weak? While we are continually called to look more like Christ and be transformed daily by the renewing of our minds, is there more we can look too, to see what may need to grow, and if so, how can we grow it?
Firstly, I want to reaffirm our hope. Philippians 1:6 tells us that it is God who began a good work in us, and it is God who will bring it to completion.
6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Why is this important? It is important because it takes the pressure and burden off of us. Being more mature and exercising faith to better reflect Christ is a good desire, but we must be careful that we do not let it become a shackle emulating our own righteousness. The law was a good thing because it made us aware of our sins, but sin used this good thing to make us seek our own righteousness. This is where you have the Pharisees who were righteous in their own sight but had missed the point. Continue to strive for righteousness and grow your faith, but do not let it become self-righteousness or detract from who Jesus calls you. God began the work in you, God will sustain you through to its completion.
My dad liked to tell me of a preacher who would get on stage and run back and forth, shouting the phrase faith is an action. While it would make me laugh, the message stuck with me and remained clear. Faith is an action. It is something you do, rather than passively hold. Even in waiting, faith is what prompts and brings security to the waiting. The first question to see if your faith is weak is to answer how are you using your faith. What signs are there for this faith in action? Muscles that aren’t used begin to atrophy. Use the faith God has given you, and take the opportunities that are presented.
When you use your faith, is it firm and secure, or shaky and double-minded? Perhaps you say I know God can do this but I doubt He will, or I think God has called me there but I’m not sure. Such thinking leads us to the warning in James
6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.
Is your faith double-minded and unstable? If you are saying you trust God, act like it. God made the heavens and the Earth, speaking it all into existence. Your worries and problems are not too big or small for him. If you ask in faith, be assured in faith. God will do what is right and best, and when storms come He will be the one to uphold you.
Lastly, we see that a faith-filled life will have fruit. The fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and gentleness. All of which, is evidence of the Holy Spirit living inside us. If you are wondering if your faith is weak, how evident is this fruit in your life? Where do you fall short and what fruits might need to come into season? Jesus tells us He is the vine and we are the branches, and that apart from Him we can bear no fruit. If it feels like these fruits are lacking, remain in Christ. Spend time with Him in prayer, and his word, and let him lead.
Jesus says that only God is truly good. While it might feel like your faith is not where it is supposed to be, remember it is Jesus who will strengthen us and complete the work. In turn, Jesus tells us to obey him, and the Holy Spirit has been sent to help guide and complete the work in us. If you feel you have fallen short in some of these areas, consider how you might begin to use and grow your faith instead. When opportunities arise to put your faith into action, do not shrink back but rather step forward. Pray for the injured, and share the gospel with the lost. For some of you, it will involve moving to different countries to share the gospel. For others it will mean being faithful where God has placed you, reflecting Jesus to your workplace and friends. We are all called to the great commission. There is work to do and opportunity to use faith.
I will leave you with this quote by John Newton. You may have heard of him before as the writer of Amazing Grace. Before becoming a Christian, he was a former slave trader but when he encountered Jesus his life changed. Faith spurred action, and that action led him further and further to pursue Christ and have a life that reflected his. This is what he said
“I am not the man I ought to be nor am I the man I want to be, but I thank God I am not the man I used to be
―John Newton
Praise God, we are not what we once used to be.
Your friend,
Aodhan
Amen! For me there are some decisions where I just "know" God's will and others where I'm wondering and doubting. I guess in those cases maybe the decision is up to me and I can trust that He will nudge me in the right direction if my decision is totally off. It's easier for me to move forward in the cases where His will is clear 😅 but we're called to steward what He gave us and sometimes that means making a decision and moving forward.