“I wish I had your faith,” someone said.
“I wish you did too,” I replied.
Our conversation continued on the subject for a few minutes and then was changed to a lighter matter. To hear those words, to feel the truth in them broke my heart. My faith is something deeply imbedded in me and I see it always has been…even when I thought it wasn’t. Although I know my faith is not perfect, nor will it ever be, it is pretty strong and stable. I wonder, what if I didn’t have my faith? Times I have struggled and times I have felt like giving up, my faith is what has pulled me through. What would my life be like today? I do not want to even entertain that thought. I like the certainty of not having control in this life and I like knowing there is life beyond this life. It makes the pain and hard times worth it.
So how do you help someone else deepen their faith? I want this person to go beyond just knowing there is a God…I want this person to be moved to their knees in feeling there is a God. I can pray for them…but I am also moved to do more.
My mind keeps pulling me to the book of Acts. Jesus was taken up to heaven, and then the Holy Spirit arrived. The church was taking root. Wow. Try to imagine being there. Being face to face and hearing the Word from men who were close to Jesus. One of them looking you in the eyes and saying,”Repent, then turn to God, so that your sins are wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.” (Acts 3:19). The gospel was given, they were instructed to repent, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit. I feel like I need to add something profound here, but that isn’t the right way. There was no jumping through hoops, it was kept simple. It should still be today.
So maybe to grow your faith you need to first take it back to the basics. Forget all the man made traditions, listen to what the words in the bible say. Know, God loves you. Believe Jesus died on the cross for your sins and he rose from the dead. Pray, repent, and turn to God.
Through the Stillness 