Growing Faith - One Summer and Winter at a Time

As I grow older and somewhat more mature, I am finding that great faith takes time. However short or long, it certainly takes real experience with God. Faith is something I’ve always been taught is essential, yet it was somewhat hard to grasp. The thing about faith is that it only makes so much sense until you have it—you can’t conceptualize real faith beyond your own until you have somehow grown to that extent of faith. Developed faith has a confidence with it, and though we observe others faith that is deeper than ours and we can imagine what it might be like, we do not carry confidence of true faith in our imagining—we simply don’t comprehend it yet.

After the disciples displayed a need for more faith, asking Jesus why they couldn’t drive out a demon:

Matt 17:20 – “He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."”

The faith of a mustard seed doesn’t understand the faith of the tree with mighty branches—not until it grows into such a tree of faith. The growing takes time, nurturing, and feeding. So how do we grow, feed, and nurture our faith? Well we don’t—if we could choose in the moment, we as little mustard seeds of faith would never choose the terrible things a tree can withstand and we have no vision of withstanding. But we do have an important first step.

Jesus in John 12:24-25: “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”

We must die. Our first death is to sin and living for ourselves in the world, but then we must die to our fears and exasperations of the next storm, in addition to our expectations and conceptions of how we could be used by God and be most pleasing in His sight. We must let God do the choosing, and our choice is simply to die to self.

Colossians 3:2-3 - “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.”

When we do this, we have exercised the faith of a mustard seed at first planting, but we will not become mighty trees overnight. God may do a great thing through us, but we likely did it less by faith and more by God’s direct intervention and “proving” His presence in the situation, for He knows the current limits of our faith. Gideon put out the fleece, just as we do so often…yet God did show himself in the fleece, as needed by Gideon’s less than full faith at the time. God is good--even in those times, we see Jesus and our faith is grown—but let’s desire to put out a few less fleeces as we grow (After all, how much more amazing when we haven’t asked for the fleece, yet God showed up with one for us!).

We first break through the soil into the atmosphere, not much more than a seed. But our faith is growing, and in ways that we could not understand as an unplanted seed; still, we desire the growth into the trees of faith we’ve encountered in the Bible or in person. But how do we get there? We might pray, “Lord, please give me the faith.” He certainly will—that is a prayer that will be answered in affirmation, but not in the way we first thought. We thought that God would impart in us an instant faith like an instant healing. Let me say that perhaps there have been individuals who have such an experience with faith, but that is extremely rare. For the vast majority, including me and likely you, this faith will have to be imparted one struggle at a time, one summer of obvious growth and winter of less obvious growth at time. And as saplings we can’t conceive of it, but one day we’ll recognize the growth that God has been cultivating, and we’ll love Him even more for it, as we glimpse a little more clearly who He is, perfect and welcoming, wonderful and sovereign, powerful and loving—and our faith will continue to grow and flourish.

If just now you desired faith, you have a great seed of Christ planted in you. If you have been frustrated with your lack of faith, you are a little sprout or sapling or anything short of the fully developed tree, yet with such potential (Let’s face it, we reach absolute full development in Heaven). Allow your faith to be exercised. It will feel like winter, it will feel like summer, but all the while you’ll be growing. We have to accept our pace.

Isaiah 40:31 – “but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Sometimes we are accelerated to God in faith, soaring “on wings like eagles,” yet other times we must plod along and “walk and not be faint.” The desire is ours to display before God—the willingness and simple obedience-the growing is His. Paul in 1 Cor 3:6-7:

“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. 7So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.”

May your faith grow abundantly in the next season and the seasons that follow. I pray that you are encouraged to “fight the good fight” with patient endurance for your faith to come, “fixing our eyes upon Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith.”

Heb 12:1-3 – “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

Amen.