The Gift of Faith

Yet we have a tendency to fall back on the idea that if only we could build our faith the good stuff will come into our hands. And some pray for faith when they don’t believe in the One who gave us faith. Here’s a plain answer to part of the conundrum why prayers are not answered – if you don’t believe in God who bestows all gifts, including faith, and brings forth miracles, there is no way possible for you to receive any of them. Simply put, you cannot receive a gift from any entity you think doesn’t exist. Faith can only come to one who believes God “is,” that He is true and freely gives us this gift as part of the full package of grace, mercy, forgiveness - wholeness - by His sacrifice on the Cross. So when we ask for stronger, deeper faith, we must realize that we are asking for Jesus’ blessing to be manifested within our spirit, which blossoms only because we recognize with Whom that spirit has been joined. Jabez called on God to “…bless me indeed.” (1Chronicles 4:10) Break down the word and you have “in deed,” otherwise meaning “in action,” “completed” or “manifested.” He asked, as do we who believe in God and His Son Jesus, that His gift be fulfilled in us, that faith be accomplished in us, that we receive and apply it.

Once we receive the gift, we are strengthened to withstand any challenge. We can hold fast to His promises and not doubt Him or His Word. The only caveat is that to know His Word we must read it and become familiar with it. Then we will ask according to His will and it will be answered (1 John 5:14-15).

The gift of faith will stand you stalwart in the face of double-mindedness, the niggling uncertainty that what we most believe for that is in line with God’s will may not come to pass. Psalm 33:3-7 tells us how to receive the desires He places on our hearts (gives to us):

3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. 4 Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. 5 Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. 6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. 7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him…

Can we trust that God has given us faith, that he grows it within us so we are not dissuaded and distracted from His purpose for us? We can if we know who blesses us with faith and shows us how to rely on it. Christmas is here and the gift of salvation, deliverance, healing, prosperity – wholeness came to earth in the form of Man. The Creator took on the skin of His creation in order to know us by living as one of us, yet without ever straying from His faith, never allowing doubt to master the gift of faith. By Jesus’ example we better understand faith and learn how God’s gift will sustain us just as it did Our Savior, enabling Him to undertake the completion of the greatest work ever to be performed for our benefit… becoming the bearer of all sin, sacrificing all on the Cross and rising to everlasting life. We have much to be thankful for in receiving God’s wondrous gift of faith.