He Changed My Faith...

My friend said it with such conviction. And the weight of it left me reeling.

I sat back and audibly groaned. In a few sentences, he had drastically changed my outlook on things and I realized how horribly wrong I had seen it all.

As we wound down a workout, my friend related a personal story regarding the intersection of illness, healing, and faith.

He spoke of the struggle and shame Christians put on themselves when dealing with illnesses that don't get healed or problems that don't instantly get better. He talked of these things intimately, having gone through them personally and with loved ones.

And then he spoke a few sentences that left me feeling lighter than I'd felt in years.

"That amount of faith you have? That's your mustard seed. Take that amount, even if it's little, and give it to the Lord. Tell him to grow the mustard tree."

Do you feel like you never have enough faith and must try harder?

Stop. There's a different way to approach all of this.

After my friend said his piece, we all sat in stunned silence. It made so much more sense. For so long, I've approached my faith as a massive gap to overcome. Day after day, I've added pressure on myself to believe harder, grind my teeth, squeeze my fists, and repeat mantras until an increased faith magically appears at my door.

I'm guessing I'm not the only one who has dealt with this.

The simple advice flipped me upside down. Instead of approaching my faith with the "hustle culture" mindset that decides grinding solves all situations, I needed to go back to the drawing board on how I approached tough situations with my faith.

So instead of grinding teeth and clenching fists, I realized I needed to be honest with Christ.

He already knows where my faith is and the level it is at. What the Lord is looking for is a humble and honest heart that doesn't say, "I'm going to force myself to believe," but says, "This is what I have Lord. I give it to you to grow. I can't grow it myself. I trust you."

When we realize that He is the one who grows and nurtures our faith, we recognize that the step of faith was in going to Him, not in completing the task.

In fact, our step in faith is relying on God to do what needs to be done.

In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul points out the power of God when compared to our own strength and efforts.

Paul says beginning in verse 7,

"Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong."

Your faith may be smaller than a mustard seed, but you reject God's power to grow it if you don't even bring it to Him.

Too often, we tell ourselves that a small faith needs to be a great faith before anything can get done.

Surely great faith works wonders, but how many of us don't have great faith and therefore avoid approaching the Lord? How many of us attempt to create an illusion for the Lord in hopes that He'll look the other way and grant our facade of faith?

Do we repeat mantras like "I believe such and such will happen!" while our heart rolls its eyes and knows nothing is ever going to happen?

I've been there.

I've banged my head against the wall trying to increase my faith through my own means. I've never felt like I hit that level where faith is limitless and my faith is perfected.

And then my friend gave us the freedom of truth. It opened me up to a whole new understanding. I don't need to grow the tree to come to the Lord. I need to bring Him my seed and let Him grow it.

After all, that's the most truthful position, isn't it? Admitting where your heart actually is. Not forcing it to pretend to be where it's not.

So the next time you have a situation that requires faith in God's capabilities, approach Him with honesty and humility. Let Him know where you're at with it. Ask Him for greater faith. Show Him the true level of faith you carry and allow Him to water and nourish it.

After all, He's reminded us repeatedly that He is a good Father who gives good gifts. If His children come to Him asking for increased faith in His character and strength, won't He give it freely?

Your first step of faith is believing His words to be true and acting on them. So go to Him, ask for those gifts, and be honest about your weaknesses.

They may just be the strengths He's given to you.