How Strong Is Your Faith?

Do you have faith? You may not think you do, or you may feel like your faith is weak and puny. But consider this: Have you ever flown on an airplane without meeting the pilot? Have you ever eaten a meal without knowing who cooked it?

The Faith You Already Have

As Christians, we all have faith to some degree. The Bible says in Romans 12 that each of us is given a measure of faith. We operate in faith all the time and don't even think about it.

For example, some of you reading this article have teenagers you send off to school every day. That requires some faith. And we all need a little faith every time we drive in traffic.

Even if you don't feel like a spiritual giant of faith, you can take hope in God's Word that says that as a believer, you have a measure of faith planted inside you.

Is Your Faith All Talk?

Some of you might say, "Well, I have faith. I believe in Jesus." Frankly, it's one thing to say you have faith, but it's an entirely different matter to apply your faith to life's challenges.

When the storms of life come (and they do for all of us), do you stay calm, cool and collected? Or do you allow fear to overpower your faith? Do you give the situation completely over to God, or do you try to figure everything out?

Stuff Happens

 It's easy for us to feel like we've got great faith when things go well or play out like we want them to. And it's easy for us to have faith when something new comes along and life is exciting.

But stuff happens. And when stuff happens, how does your faith respond?

We operate in faith all the time and don't even think about it. I'm not just referring to big dramatic events that take place...I'm also referring to the little things that pop up and can easily sidetrack you.

For example, recently I was at a conference, and I had a Starbucks coffee waiting for me after one of the sessions. I absolutely love Starbucks coffee. And the coffee was inside one of these big, double-walled Starbucks mugs that keep your coffee warm for a long time. The mug is a copper color, and I really love to use it when I drink coffee.

Anyhow, after the session I went back to drink the coffee, and somebody had stolen it! The mug, even the creamer...everything was gone.

You see, stuff is going to happen. And years ago I would have thrown a fit if that had happened. I would have cried, "Oh God, why does this stuff happen to me? The devil is always picking on me! It's not fair!"

But I kept the faith and decided that the whole incident was actually quite hilarious. And then I started thinking, Well, somebody might have been cleaning up and thought they were doing something good. You see, I practiced something else the Bible tells us to do: to think the best of people. That also requires faith.

How to Release Faith

Faith is something that must be released. You can possess faith, but you must put it to use. A muscle that is not used gets weak and shrivels up. If you don't use your faith, then it's no different than not having any.

When you sit down in a chair, you have faith that it's not going to collapse. You don't start sweating and trembling with fear saying, "Oh, I'm afraid to sit in this chair. I don't know if I should be doing this!" It's a silly illustration to make the point: You just go plop down in the chair because you do have a measure of faith.

But what about when you have a problem? Do you go plop down in the arms of Jesus and say, "I'm asking You to take care of this and I believe You will."

Do you release your faith through prayer, line up what you speak with God's promises, and do whatever He asks you to do without trying to figure things out? Now that's the way to release your faith!

Give your circumstance over to Jesus and be confident that He's got it all under control. Your life will change dramatically once you unleash your faith. Don't just have it in your heart—let it out, put it to the test and be amazed at what God does through your life!