How Do You Get Strong Faith?

Preachers have told parents whose child lay sick, “If you have enough faith, he can be made well.”
What happens if the child dies? Did they not have enough faith?
Yet Jesus said, it wasn’t the amount of faith, for if you had the faith as a grain of mustard seed, you could remove mountains (Matthew 17:20).

Abraham is called a man of faith.
How did he get such strong faith?
By his obedience?
Paul refutes this belief in Romans 4. 
Abraham was told to be circumcised. But Abraham had his faith before he was circumcised. It was not a condition of his faith. 
He had his faith first.
His faith was not based on anything he did.

Abraham didn’t consider his or Sarah’s age, when he considered the promise God gave to him of a son.
Why?
Because he knew God would have to do it.

How did he get such strong faith?
Read Romans 4:20-21.
… he grew strong in his faith (how?) as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised.

Abraham gave God glory.

Want your faith to grow?
It’s not some magical potion you wish for and it happens, 
Or that you just try harder.
It is by giving God glory.
Isn’t that what we’ve been talking about this past year?
We’ve been created to do that.

How did Abraham give God glory?
Abraham believed what God said He would do.
God told him He would give him a son.
Abraham believed God’s Word.
And gave God glory.
And his faith grew.

What promises have God given you?
Maybe that’s the problem, you don’t even know.
His Word is full of them.
He’s promised He will supply our needs (Philippians 4:13).
Are you trusting Him?
Or do you trust your credit card. 
You use your credit card for what you do not have, rather than ask God and trust Him to provide. 
Sometimes that means you go without. And wait.
Because God isn’t answering when you ask.
Or are you even asking?

When God supplies our needs, He does it in ways only He can do.
There is nothing left but to praise Him.

Let me give you an example.
My husband has the gift of faith. He takes God at His Word.
When we read that wives were to be keepers at home (Titus 2:5), my husband worked harder to make sure I stayed home.
People say, "It's easy for you. Your income can support your family."
Not so.
When Joey was in school, I did not work. Nor did he.
But God provided.
Rent.
Groceries.
All our bills were paid on time.
How?
People gave.
Not the same ones, and not those who had a lot to give.
But God took care of us.
We did get a school loan for the school payment and his books.
Joey looks back on that as a mistake. 
He said, "If we would have trusted God for that, He would have provided that too."
"Everything that we trusted God for, He provided."

We choose to believe God when He said, "be keepers at home," even when it was hard.
We had only one car until our sixth son was born (that was one car for 10 years of marriage).
When Joey went to army drill, we stayed home.
And every time he left, something happened—the well pump went out, the dog killed a pig and I butchered it (between nursing babies and watching the others), you get the message.
I'd go with Joey to work (1 hr away), shop for groceries with five young sons and wait until he was finished with work.
It was hard.

But God rewarded our obedience.
I was there when each son said their first words, took their first steps, learned to read....
People ask what we did to train our sons, we took God at His Word.
All His Word.
And God blessed.

Consider the opposite—what having credit does.
Having credit cards eliminates our need to look to God, even our churches take out loans. 
We don't have to ask God, or wait, or even wonder if we need the item we are getting, we just get it.
We no longer need someone from church to help fix our car or our plumbing— we can use our card to pay for our emergency.
We no longer see the church as an outreaching arm of God. 
We don't even know what the church people do.
No one needs to help us.

By using credit, we've become more independent from God and slaves to the one who holds our debt. 
 Owe no man anything.... (Romans 13:8) The borrower is servant to the lender (Proverbs 22:7).
We don't even realize its weight.
Those "rewards" suck away our life—because we must work more to pay them off,
yet are more enticing than God's rewards. 
And we wonder why our faith doesn't grow!

Maybe it’s not material needs, maybe it’s a ministry—a good ministry.
When we assume this good deed is what God wants us to do,
without asking and waiting for His answer,
We push our ways on God.

God does not provide.
And our faith does not grow.
But our self-righteousness grows.
We can look at all the things we’ve done for God.
(That God didn’t even want us to do.)
We're like the child who insists on doing his own way, but gives his mom flowers.
As if that ministry will please God.

Or, like our example at the beginning, we promise healing
when God didn't say He would heal.
But He did say, He would be with them through the shadow of death.
There's a big difference.

Do you think it was easy for Abraham to wait?
His name means, “father of many.”
Know how many children he had?
Not many. 
Not even one, for 20-some years.
But he gave God glory.
Because Abraham believed God’s Word.
And God gave Abraham a son in his old age.

Do we believe God’s Word?
When we do things, even good things, without seeking God,
We are earning our faith—like following the law
—like the Pharisees, looking at what we do.

But when we seek God for everything, we won’t be understood, even by Christians.
You'll also find you aren't rushed into a decision.
Look at the prophets. Many prayed for months before an answer came.
Some prayed for years.
We can't hurry God for an answer.
Sometimes God tells us to wait. 
Or not do it at all.

As we wait, we glory in Him.
Because our faith rests on what He has said.
And our praise belongs to Him.
When He supplies, we will know it was Him.

Want strong faith?
Then believe God at His Word and give Him glory.

I write about what matters...to you---
women, wives and moms---
about your family, faith and future.
I write about what's hard, what helps and what heals.
I show you how it's done. And not done.
I hold your hand as you find what matters to the Savior.
And let go of those things that mattered to you, but not to Him.
I write about what matters...to Him.
               Sonya Contreras

Faith
Find more articles about faith here:
The Need for Meaning Even in Pain
Reminders of What's Important
God's Unmeasurable Love
A Quarter of a Century Spent for Our Country
What Were You Thinking?
Who Are You Watching?
Boundaries for a Better Life
God's Boundaries
Memories of a Hero Mom
The Ripple Effect
How Do We Think Like Jesus
Litany of a Waiting Woman
Ever Cook a Frog?
New Year's Reminders
They Galled Her Gammy
When God Speaks
A Russian Christmas Story
Be Thankful
Be Grateful
Are You Tired of the Same, Old Thing?
  (reprint)
Laughter—Why Laugh?
Mom
Are You Disturbed?
Unity of the Brothers
Encouragements To Declutter
Do You Have Too Much Stuff?
Too Much Stress
Getting Past the Noise—The Value of Silence
Are You Scatterbrained?
How Good Are You?
Looking for Something Good To Read?
A Cup of Cold Water
I Will Trust When I Cannot See
Encouragement—What Is It?
Being in God's Presence
"Einstein and the Professor"
When God Is Silent
Do You Crave Beauty?
Using Stories to Discipline
The Danger of the Wrong Story
Using Stories to Teach Lessons
God is in charge of the future
November Dare Joy Challenge
Ungratefulness
Developing an Attitude of Gratitude
Looking for Jesus
What Do Your Prayers Reflect?
Life's Little Pleasures
Daniel—Greatly Loved by God
Take Every Thought
Jars of Clay
What Do Your Words Reveal about Your Heart?
How Do You Get Strong Faith?
Too Busy for God's Word?
How Do You Think Like Jesus?
Reflections from a Mom
Pain—What's It Good For?
Why Marry?
Consider the Robin
One Life Who Made a Difference
What Day Are You Living In?
Interrupted by God
Is Jesus Really the Answer to Everything?
Are You Beat Up?
What's Your Hurry?
Are You a Manipulator?
Are You Salty?
Are You Condemned?
Trying to Understand?
Do You Expect Answers to Your Prayers?
Do You Eat Your Stress?
Need Focus?
Going through Trouble?
Immanuel—God with Us
Looking for a Relationship?
When God Says, "No!"
What Do You Do with Left-Overs?
How Great Is Your God?
Are You Needy?
How Do You See Sin?
What Do Your Words Mean?
Is Evil Overwhelming You?
Those Aha Moments
Is Your Soul Happy?
Are You Ignored?
Looking for the God Moment
Do You Know Truth from Almost Truth?
I Believe in Jesus—What Now?
Do You Have Your "Son"-Glasses On?
Less Is More
Singing His Praise
Are You Trying To Do It All?
What Do You Do with All These Prayer Requests?
Have a Problem?
Do You Know How to Pray?
Looking for God in Every Moment
Are You Receptive to God's Blessings?
Tell the Senate: Mothers Aren't Birthing People
Is Your Life Complicated?
How Do We Fight Evil?
Fearfully and Wonderfully Made
Giving Up or Taking Away
the Bible is simple
Are You a Dripping Faucet?
What's Your Testimony?
The Final Move
Be Careful What You Wish For!
Are Your Prayers Answered?
I Choose Joy
What Have You Learned from Your Hardship?
Who Are You Trying to Change?
What's Your Five-Year Plan?
The Danger of "Aloneness"
My Colors
Are You a Whiner?
Are Your Works Approved?
Do You Think You're Stressed?
Is Your Soul Feeling Ragged?
God Speaks to the Heart of the King
What about the Details?
Have You Felt the Long-Suffering of God?
How Does God Lead You?
Do You Have Enough?
Don't Carry More than You Need
Cast the Seed
God Is Faithful
Are You Deceived?
Are You Essential?
Are You Safe?
Are You Tired of the Same Old Thing?
Does the World Make Sense?
Have You Seen God's Majesty?
Do You Feel Judged?
If You Only Had One More Day To Live
Are You Understood?
Do You Long for the Word of God?
Slow Down and Smell the Dead Leaves
Are You Hospitable?
Our Heritage Is Bought by Blood
Are You Disturbed?
Are You Depressed?
I Did It My Way
Finding the Simple Life with Meaning
The Simple Life
Do You Have the Right Words?
Did Your Dream Die?
On the Other Side of the Fence
Marijuana, Mental Illness, and Violence
Confessions of a Desperate Mom
Saving for Tomorrow
A Wedding Remembered
Who Will Stand in the Gap?
Are You a Protector or a Ruler?
Who Are You?
Are You an Image Bearer or a Wad of Cells?
Are You a Watchman?
Where Do You Find Meaning?
The Lamb of God as Told by a Scribe
What Love Is This?
Remember: The Symbols of Passover Explained
Tea and Rest
Do You Have Peace?
What Makes a Marriage Work?
When Life Is Awful
Are You Strong Enough?
Rules
Seasons
Be Faithful through Suffering
Do You Know the Word?
Wake Up! Strengthen What Remains
Are You Spit in God's Mouth?
Is Jezebel in Your Midst?
Do You Stand Against Satan Himself?
Are You Tired of Being a Mom?
What in the World Is Happening?
It's Not My Story
How Would Your Faith Compare?
Are You Sinking?
Are You a Rule Follower?
Useful for Him
An Intimate Moment with Mary
The Worldview that Makes the
   Underclass
Thoughts to Ponder
What Does It Take To Know the
    Heart of God?
See the Story in the Stars
Do the Scriptures Burn You?
Being in His Presence
Contentment: It's Not for the Timid
How Secure Are You?
How Do You Respond To Stupid People?
The Earthworm Is My Hero
Heart Issues or Issues of the Heart
Things Aren't Always What They Seem
More faith articles are found here:

under the Table of Contents. Also available in book form.
Or here:

under the Table of Contents. Also available in book form.
Articles on Suffering can be found  here, 

under Table of Contents. Also available in book form.
Special Days
Remember: The Symbols of 
   Passover Explained    
Aug 12, 2017 The Heavens Declare the Glory of God
July 4th, Freedom
What Is an American Soldier?
Valentine's Day: A Day of Love?
Memorial Day-A Day To Remember
Veterans' Day-To Honor Our Men
Fall Colors
First Thanksgiving Day
    Proclamation
Christmas: Stories behind the Songs
Christmas: Stories behind the Songs, part 2