avatarJacquelyn Lynn

Free AI web copilot to create summaries, insights and extended knowledge, download it at here

2478

Abstract

have faith in him, the desire to obey him comes naturally.</p><h2 id="93eb">Be thankful</h2><p id="f42f">Develop an attitude of gratitude. Give thanks for what you have, and don’t complain about what you don’t have. Look for what is right in a situation, not just what is wrong. Being consistently thankful lets you focus on the good; the benefit of that is what we think about will eventually manifest.</p><p id="884d">When you focus on what you are thankful for, you will receive even more for which you can be thankful. One of the best ways to cultivate thankfulness is to keep a gratitude journal. When you start writing down what you are thankful for, you’ll be surprised at how long your list is.</p><h2 id="7dfb">Worship</h2><p id="2b05">Worship is more than prayer. In worship, you have the opportunity to express your reverence and adoration for God. Celebrate this in worship.</p><h2 id="4b6e">Spend time with other people of faith</h2><p id="a0b5">Let their faith walk strengthen yours, and as you grow, you can help others do the same. This is being part of the Body of Christ.</p><h2 id="5e89">Share the good news</h2><p id="2987">Be open about your faith and tell others how wonderful it is to let God be in control of your life. Of course, remember that there’s a big difference between sharing and lecturing. You can’t browbeat anyone into believing but you can show them how joyful living a godly life can be.</p><h2 id="15c2">Give love to others</h2><p id="4d20">Faith works by love — the love of God and the love of one another.</p><p id="45b0">Even as you work to grow your faith, you must at the same time guard against things that can weaken your faith. Ignorance, fear, doubt, discouragement, and pride are all enemies of faith.</p><p id="0187">You will defeat ignorance as you increase your knowledge and understanding of the Bible. Fear is an expectation that bad things will happen — and most things we fear never actually come to pass or if they do, they aren’t as bad as we anticipated. Doubt challenges the truth. Discouragement weakens us and makes us vulnerable to negativity and evil influences. Pride, or the love of praise, causes your priorities and God’s priorities to be out of alignment.</p><p id="f995">Knowing and understanding what can weaken your faith will help prepare you to fight back with truth. Strong faith is not insurance that you will never face challenges or struggles. Rather, it is assurance that you will never face them

Options

alone.</p><div id="39dc" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/lets-talk-about-faith-97d4063a1979"> <div> <div> <h2>Let’s Talk About Faith</h2> <div><h3>What faith is and isn’t, and the benefits of believing</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*0vuH1DrxLNoQqd2nZab8VA.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><p id="89c9">Here’s a little more about me:</p><div id="439d" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/i-couldnt-be-an-elephant-so-i-became-a-writer-d54048740b51"> <div> <div> <h2>I Couldn’t be an Elephant, so I Became a Writer</h2> <div><h3>When you love what you do, it’s still work — but it’s awesome work!</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*sY4FpBF5g1dnlvg2zITdbw.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><p id="52a4">Finally, here’s how to get a beautiful inspirational quote delivered to your inbox every Saturday:</p><div id="917e" class="link-block"> <a href="https://jacquelynlynn.medium.com/10-seconds-of-inspiration-to-wrap-up-your-week-1402014b1937"> <div> <div> <h2>10 Seconds of Inspiration to Wrap Up Your Week</h2> <div><h3>Get a brief inspirational message delivered to your inbox every Saturday</h3></div> <div><p>jacquelynlynn.medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*8EYdQaKSrQBOEy0HaRlMJw.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><p id="c40d">Thank you for reading this excerpt from my book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074FGVHTD/"><i>Finding Joy in the Morning: You </i>can<i> make it through the Night</i></a>.</p><figure id="4332"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*b-N7OvtSD1vuULvYFOJ0Og.jpeg"><figcaption>Encouraging, empowering, and entertaining. In Christ.</figcaption></figure></article></body>

Faith Is a Work in Progress

How to grow and develop your faith

Image courtesy of the author

True faith is knowing that God is always in control, even when it seems like things are out of control

It’s easy to be faithful when things are good. It’s not so easy when things are bad. We should expect our faith to be tested.

You may lose material things. You may experience pain. But faith can get you through whatever you must deal with.

Let’s get practical about faith. When you first believe, it’s likely that your faith is not anywhere near as strong as it will eventually become.

That’s why it’s called a faith walk — it’s a journey down a long, wonderful road that takes you closer to God with every step.

“Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.” — Saint Augustine

Regardless of where you are in your walk today, you can grow and develop your faith. Here’s how.

Read and listen to the Word of God as much as possible

Read the Bible. Listen to an audio version when it’s not practical to read. Immersing yourself in God’s Word with an open heart and an open mind will strengthen your faith. Knowing God’s history and the life of his people helps build your confidence in who he is. You can use this knowledge to help you reflect on how he has worked before in your own life, which will strengthen your faith in him today and tomorrow.

Spend time building a strong prayer life

Praying — talking and listening to God — is one of the easiest ways to build faith.

Obey God

Know how God wants you to live. As you are faithful in small things, God will reveal larger things. Obedience is a very practical way to grow faith. A lot of people have trouble with the word “obedient” — and I’m one of them. I just don’t like being told what to do, especially if I’m being told to do something I don’t want to do.

But Jesus said:

“If you love me, you will obey what I command.” (John 14:15, NIRV)

When you love God and have faith in him, the desire to obey him comes naturally.

Be thankful

Develop an attitude of gratitude. Give thanks for what you have, and don’t complain about what you don’t have. Look for what is right in a situation, not just what is wrong. Being consistently thankful lets you focus on the good; the benefit of that is what we think about will eventually manifest.

When you focus on what you are thankful for, you will receive even more for which you can be thankful. One of the best ways to cultivate thankfulness is to keep a gratitude journal. When you start writing down what you are thankful for, you’ll be surprised at how long your list is.

Worship

Worship is more than prayer. In worship, you have the opportunity to express your reverence and adoration for God. Celebrate this in worship.

Spend time with other people of faith

Let their faith walk strengthen yours, and as you grow, you can help others do the same. This is being part of the Body of Christ.

Share the good news

Be open about your faith and tell others how wonderful it is to let God be in control of your life. Of course, remember that there’s a big difference between sharing and lecturing. You can’t browbeat anyone into believing but you can show them how joyful living a godly life can be.

Give love to others

Faith works by love — the love of God and the love of one another.

Even as you work to grow your faith, you must at the same time guard against things that can weaken your faith. Ignorance, fear, doubt, discouragement, and pride are all enemies of faith.

You will defeat ignorance as you increase your knowledge and understanding of the Bible. Fear is an expectation that bad things will happen — and most things we fear never actually come to pass or if they do, they aren’t as bad as we anticipated. Doubt challenges the truth. Discouragement weakens us and makes us vulnerable to negativity and evil influences. Pride, or the love of praise, causes your priorities and God’s priorities to be out of alignment.

Knowing and understanding what can weaken your faith will help prepare you to fight back with truth. Strong faith is not insurance that you will never face challenges or struggles. Rather, it is assurance that you will never face them alone.

Here’s a little more about me:

Finally, here’s how to get a beautiful inspirational quote delivered to your inbox every Saturday:

Thank you for reading this excerpt from my book, Finding Joy in the Morning: You can make it through the Night.

Encouraging, empowering, and entertaining. In Christ.
Christianity
Faith
God
Inspiration
Joy
Recommended from ReadMedium