Small faith, big faith

Many Christians confess that their faith is small, and they are hoping that one day it will become strong. Especially when facing anxiety about the future, they say they believe that God has promised to keep them, but they are not able to take hold of that in a practical way. They pray to God and ask others to pray that their faith will become stronger.

What is happening is that this kind of 'faith' depends on their state of mind, sometimes optimistic and at other times tied down with a sense of pessimism, uncertainty or hopelessness. What they hope is that God will help them in such a way that they will no longer feel like this, but they will feel strong. Some people make attempts to think positively, reject negative thoughts and hopefully achieve a strong sense of 'faith'. This is not the faith that God wants from us. Some people have described this as having faith in the quantity of our faith!

But the kind of faith that God is looking for is where we trust and depend on Him, instead of depending on our own strength. Without Him, we can do nothing (Jn.15:5). Faith means that since we have no confidence in ourselves, because we have an almighty, loving and wise God with us, we lean on Him for everything.

If we ask ourselves whether God is mighty, loving, wise enough and in control of everything to take care of us, many of us know enough to give the theoretical answer 'yes'. But if in our time of crisis, that knowledge of God seems distant and we are still down in fear, we are not really putting our trust in God. When we trust in Him, we can honestly believe that He will take care of us, He will always be with us, He will not allow us to be tested more than we are able to bear, etc., and then our fear will disappear. What really happens here is that when we are faced with a crisis, knowing our own weakness and helplessness, we are making the choice to trust in God instead, and then cast our burdens on Him and know that He knows what is best for us. That is faith. Jesus scolded the disciples several times when they did not trust Him like this, and He called them those of little faith. But He appreciated the faith of those who did, calling their faith 'great', for example the Roman centurion who trusted that Jesus' word was enough to save his servant, and the woman who believed that Jesus could deliver her daughter from demons even though she did not deserve it.

Mere acceptance of truths about God and the Gospel of Jesus will not produce this faith. But if we think deeply about the implications of these truths to our personal life and make the decision to choose God as our Lord and Master, that is when true faith begins. Then we hand over the ownership and control of our life to Him, and expect that our Heavenly Father will take good care of us. If anyone does not know Him like this, here is an opportunity for you to humbly repent from your sins, receive true salvation and choose Jesus as your Saviour and Lord.