Lately I have been hearing the Lord talk to me about faith. In times of fear, does our faith seem to shrink in the shadow of whatever is looming tall in front of us? Or do we step forward with confidence, facing the giant in front of us, because we know who our God is? I want to be the latter. Always.

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. – Hebrews 11:6

But it seems the enemy is great at scaring many of us. He wants to make us feel insecure, stressed, worried, and doubtful. If the enemy can keep our focus on the problem we are facing, then he can keep us from being effective and strong. We have to be intentional about keeping our eyes on God, especially in times of trouble.

However, I think prior to times of trouble, we should train ourselves to be better in this area. We should be working on strengthening our faith at all times. This will help us to stand taller and stronger when we are facing an issue.

This doesn’t necessarily mean we are strong enough to take on whatever we are facing. But we won’t fear because our faith is strong and we will fully rely on the strength of God. We will know without a doubt that He will never leave us nor forsake us.

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. – Deuteronomy 31:6

When David defeated Goliath, he faced him with confidence. No one else was brave enough to face Goliath. Then David came along with a few stones and a slingshot. But there are two important things to note about this story.

First, David’s faith was strengthened prior to this incident. When David tended his father’s sheep, he had to face lion and bear who came after the sheep. In those incidents, David could see how the Lord was by his side. This helped him to stand boldly in front of Goliath. Which brings us to the second point. David knew that the Lord was the true source of his strength. He knew he could face anything because he had God Almighty by his side.

No matter what level of faith we have now, I believe we all can continue to grow in this area. We can always take time to sharpen our swords and strengthen our faith. How do we strengthen our faith? Spending time with Him daily by reading the Bible and praying is always a good place to start. The Bible has many champions for faith we can read about and learn from. Reading the Bible daily also draws us closer to God. And this helps us to keep our focus on Him, which is another step we can take to strengthen our faith.

We all have been walking through difficult times over the last several weeks. It is easy to look around at what’s been going on and allow fear to creep in. However, when we begin to feel fearful, we can remind ourselves to turn our focus back to the Lord. He is our provider. He is our source. He is our strength. So no matter what may be happening in the world, we do not have to fear. Instead we can turn to the Lord and strengthen our faith.

I will discussing some Biblical examples of faith over the next several weeks. So be sure to check back next Thursday for practical tips on how you can strengthen your faith.

© 2020 Bridget A. Thomas

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