Find faith when you need it
To find faith when you need it, you absolutely must focus on God instead of your trouble.
That's not easy to do. When your problems overwhelm you, there seems no way out.
But that's a problem-centered perspective. By changing what you're focusing on, you move to a God-centered perspective.
This is not a matter of semantics. Neither is it wishful thinking, visualizing, or any New Age mumbo-jumbo. It's a matter of understanding who does what.
Your prayers don't move the mountains (obstacles) in your life. God does.
While prayers are the avenue we use to communicate with God, he is the true source of power.
You can receive faith when you need it when you understand who God is and what he does.
Do you need more faith?
Jesus said we need faith the size of a grain of mustard seed, a tiny, unimpressive object. That's enough when we realize God supplies the power to get things done, not us or our prayers.
It's not a question of quantity but direction. We can have "great" faith when we put it in the sovereign God who runs the universe.
Here's another wrong belief: We are never the source of our faith. God is. God gives us faith. That changes things entirely, doesn't it? No more struggling, working, trying harder to gin up the required amount of faith to get God to respond.
You can find faith when you need it by resting in God, knowing he is all-powerful and all-good. Jesus said,
“What is impossible with man is possible with God.” (Luke 18:27, NIV)
We're wired to want to do something. We think our job is to work harder, pray harder, beg harder. Our real job is to recognize God for who he really is.
What the Bible teaches us
If you did a New Testament word search on "faith" using www.biblegateway.com, you would discover that this belief in God and his power opens the way for many good things.
Too often we come at our situation by striving rather than agreement. Faith means being willing to accept the solution God provides.
That's contrary to our nature. By golly, we want what we want, when we want it, and we bust our hump trying to manipulate God into giving us exactly that.
It never works.
God is not our genie. We work for him, not the other way around. We're the children, he's the Father. We're the asker, not the teller.
When our will aligns with God's, that's when prayer is answered, and that's hard. We think we know best what we need. I can tell you from a lifetime of experience that God knew what I needed better than I did.
Many times I didn't like the way things turned out, but Christianity is not about what I want. It's about what God wants.
Faith when you need it means letting God have the final say. In that context, faith and trust are interchangeable. We hear about people taking a "leap" of faith. That's the scary act of saying, "Yes, God. I'll go along with whatever you decide."
Faith when you need it: Hard times
It's easy to trust God when life is smooth. You feel blessed, you feel close to him. This is the way you like it.
When hard times hit, and eventually they always do, that's when your faith—your trust—is tested. God gives us plenty of tests in life.
Our trust is the question. God is the answer.
I've often thought, "If this doesn't go the way I want it, I'll never survive." That may sound funny to you, but when we're desperate, we all think that way.
But I was wrong. I was always wrong. I have survived, and often I've prospered after the toughest kind of test.
Our outlook is skewed. We can't be objective. We're too close to the problem to see it the way God does. He knows the big picture, and he knows the future.
That's why you can trust him.
5 ways to refocus your faith:
1. Believe the Truth, not what you see.
We're used to a solid, material world. Like the apostle Thomas, we're trained to believe only what we can see with our own eyes. But the Truth is that the Holy Spirit, our great Helper and Comforter, is invisible. He also dwells within you, even though you can't always sense that. Trust God, not your doubts.
2. Read the Bible every day.
Life seems more hectic than ever. We have trouble carving out time to read the Word of God. But God provided his Bible specifically so we could draw upon it in times of trouble. To find faith when you need it, read the Bible stories about people who had great faith. Abraham, Joseph, David, and Paul can teach you that God rewards those who put their faith in him.
3. Slip short prayers in during your day and evening.
Prayer can be as short as one sentence or even a single word. Prayers like "Help me, Jesus" or "Strengthen me, Lord" will bring your focus back on God instead of your problems. And don't forget to thank God throughout your day, too. He does respond to our cries for help.
4. Ask others about their answered prayers.
One of the most exciting parts of life is when God answers your prayers! Most people are thrilled to tell how God brought them through a tough time. The Holy Spirit will use other Christians to give you faith when you need it.
5. Recall how God answered your own prayers.
As you look back on your life, you can see how God rescued you and provided an even better solution than you hoped for. If God worked in your life in the past, you can be sure he'll do the same in your present and future. As preacher Charles F. Stanley once said, "God never gives up on you."
