Building Our Faith
June 8
Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them…
1Samuel 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.”
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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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