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Faith
How can I grow stronger in my faith?
Begin a journal of God's promises. As you see promises in God's Word write them in a notebook. Eventually, you may want to categorize them.
Use categories such as "Personal," "Family," "Financial," "Friends," "Business," "Temptation," and "Rewards." Memorize one promise for every category.
Every parent knows that what is best for the child is also sometimes painful for the child. Every trip to the doctor or dentist is an act of love on the part of the parent and yet a time of fear and potential pain for the child. Discipline is the same way.
From a child's perspective this can be confusing: "Why would someone who says he loves me hurt me or allow someone else to hurt me?" Yet from our vantage point, it all makes sense.
Imagine that you are sitting in the waiting room at your dentist's office. You look over and see a four-year-old child crying and begging his daddy not to make him have his cavity filled. You walk over to the child and ask this question, "Do you think your daddy loves you?" Under these circumstances you wouldn't be shocked to hear, "No, my daddy doesn't love me. He made me come to the dentist." The child's faith in the goodness of his father would be at a low point.
These circumstances don't communicate love to a four-year-old. And he doesn't have the maturity to think through all the other good and sacrificial things his dad has done for him in the past. The child's attention is riveted to the present.
You realize that this is a timing problem. The child doesn't have all of the information. He doesn't realize the importance of having the cavity filled. However, ask him the same question a few hours later when his dad is rewarding him with a chocolate shake!
We are the same way. When things aren't going our way, it is hard to look beyond the here and now; it is hard to remember the goodness of the Lord; we forget the significance of the sacrifice made for us at Calvary. Consequently, our faith runs low; we begin to doubt.
But as we learn to refocus on what happened at Calvary two thousand years ago, our faith will grow strong. We will be able to join in with the psalmist who wrote,
But I have trusted in Your mercy; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, Because He has dealt bountifully with me (Psalm 13:5-6).
This material has been taken from:
The Charles Stanley Handbook for Christian Living
by Dr. Charles Stanley
Used with permission. Thomas Nelson Publishing, Nashville, Tennessee
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