Building
Our Faith
Your servant has killed both the lion
and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them…
1 Samuel 17:36
Larry had been chasing God since the
early 1980s. Because of his hunger, God had begun teaching Larry
early and often in regard to spiritual matters. So it had come as no
surprise when God began building Larry’s financial faith.
One service, during the offering, the
Holy Spirit had impressed on Larry to give all the money in his
wallet, which on that night happened to be $50 dollars. He remembered
secretly wishing it had been less. But the Holy Spirit had
instructed, “Give everything you have. Note the amount and date in
your bible. Beside the entry write the word, PROVE.”
Larry, believing God was about to
reveal something of great value, intended to find out what that
something was. So, in the margin of his Bible he’d written, June
8, 1984, Gave fifty dollars in the offering tonight under the
direction of the Holy Spirit. He said to write the word PROVE. Not
sure what it all means.
It had been six years since that
faith-building lesson. Larry smiled as he reread the entry below that
one of June 8th. One month to the
day later, he’d written, July 8, 1984, received $5000.00
cash unexpectedly! God said, “Obedience is better than sacrifice.”
†
God wants to build our faith. He does
that one experience at a time, laminating our faith and giving us a
foundation on which to stand in the future. Like David, our faith is
bolstered with each encounter. Over time we hesitate less when God
beckons us.
Faith encounters range from trusting
God with our finances to courage in the face of great odds; from
standing for Christ when it’s less than popular to believing God
for the healing of a terminally-ill cancer patient. Each event
enhances our relationship with God through obedience.
David had slain a lion and a bear, God
had built his faith to such a degree that a really big Philistine was
no big thing.
The faith building is God’s
part, ours is being faithful, available, teachable and obedient.
Prayer
“I want to have a faith
that will stand in times of trial, Lord. Teach me to trust as You
lead me into new areas of understanding. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”
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