6 Ways to Increase our Faith

When life turns upside down, we can think of at least 6 Ways to Increase our Faith in times of trouble.

All of us struggle hanging on to our faith when life gets unusually hard. We tend to question where we went wrong or why God is doing what He is doing.

Those of us that are facing tough days right now will find direction and encouragement in these 6 Ways to Increase our Faith. Those whose life is going smoothly but know someone who is currently being challenged in their faith may find this post useful as they try to walk with them in their trial.

Although I hope each of us can find help by this post about how to increase our faith, I want to first remind us ALL that…

** There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man…** 1 Corinthians 10:13

It is normal to have our faith tested. I believe it is actually necessary . Because, if our faith isn’t tested, it will stagnate and stink like a soggy sponge. The only way to get the stink out is to use the sponge until it is empty of the excess water and to run some extra soap through it.

We, as Christians need to be rung out from time to time, and have our faith put to the test. Too much knowledge, too much ‘church’, without enough active engagement in our faith, will make us as stinky as that sponge. We must exercise our faith daily, challenge it, and push the limits of it, so that it can grow and be cleaned up for even greater trials.

Let’s talk about the 6 Ways to Increase our faith.

Tip #1: PRAY

I know this is obvious and contradictory at the same time. A Christian should always pray over everything but, If our faith is weak, prayer might not be our first thought. But when we pray like the disciples did in Mark Chapter 9 when the anxious father found no help for his demon-filled child, he said to Jesus… **(with tears), Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. ** parentheses mine

It’s okay to admit that we recognize where our faith comes up short. It may be weak regarding our children and their health, or the loss of a loved one, or financial ruin. Or it could be the loss of ministry, the loss of income or a spouse that is terminally ill. We all have our weak spots concerning truly trusting the Lord with our life.

So, although our faith is limited in certain trials, we can still go to the Lord with our small faith and ask for His help in prayer.

Tip #2: REMEMBER HIS PROMISES

We have already exercised this a little with Tip #1 by remembering that His Word values our honesty when our faith is weak. What other truths or promises can we lean on that will strengthen our faith when it is challenged?

Matthew 19:26 promises us that ** with men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.**

Matthew 12:15 says: ** and great multitudes followed him and he healed them all **. I am not a super faith person, but I do believe in the power of God’s Word. This verse does not guarantee healing for anyone, in any situation, but it is a good place to start. A place of faith that God CAN heal a loved one.

** but my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. ** Philippians 4:19 is another promise we can apply to our financial trials and many other material needs.

Tip #3: REMEMBER WHAT GOD HAS DONE FOR YOU IN THE PAST

In Psalm 42, we see David remembering past victories. Dwelling on what the Lord had already done for him in the past helped him in his present.

If we have walked through a similar trial than the one we are in now and the Lord delivered us from it or gave us the grace and courage to walk through it, we can trust Him to do the same today. This is a step up in our faith.

If there is one thing that really makes us uncomfortable it is first time issues. The first baby, the first day in a new school or a new job. The first time traveling on a plane. The first time ordering in a restaurant in Spanish. First time events are nerve and fear magnets for all of us. But once we have survived first time experiences once, we know we can do it again.

So it is with our faith. Once the Lord brings us to the end of any problem, we are now equipped to face it again in the future and to help others as they face the same trial. Repeat problems are the best ones, really, because we have the tools of faith and experience to deal with them again.

Tip #4: ACCEPT THAT A “NO” IS A GOOD THING

The Lord knows better than we do on what we need. When He tells us ‘no’, or that “there is no escaping this trial’, He is protecting us or teaching us something that is bigger than a ‘yes’.

We can accept a ‘no’ to being delivered from our problems as a challenge to trust Him more. We can rejoice instead of complaining during this learning process. We can stand up and pay attention because we are about to learn some beautiful and deep truths.

We need to learn to accept ‘no’ as a good thing.

Tip #5: HAVE AN ABUNDANCE MENTALITY

We have talked about gratitude several times here at www.richinmercy.net. Being able to see what the Lord IS doing is a powerful way to increase our faith. Focusing on what the Lord is NOT doing is a great way to weaken it.

It is like the child who gets 10 presents on Christmas morning, then cries because he wants the 11th one. He is missing all the fun playing with what he has right in front of him.

If we have an abundance mentality in our own life, our faith will grow. But if we only look for what God has yet to do, we will be as miserable as that child.

Being grateful for all that the Lord has done will bring us back to Tip #3. It will trigger more and more memories of what the Lord has done in the past and it will help us to focus more on what we have in the present. If we only think about the problem we are currently dealing with, we will be miserable and we will make everyone around us miserable.

Tip #6: GOD IS GOD

When all else fails to increase our faith when things got too hard to handle, God is God!

2 Timothy 2 tells us that ** if we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself. **

Whatever we are facing, God is not afraid. He is not overwhelmed. He is not crying out of desperation. He is not confused. He has not lost sight of us. He is GOD!

He knows everything. He sees everything. He hears everything. He plans everything. He has control.

Even if we don’t.

The Lord cannot and will not deny himself. He KNOWS that He can help us. He knows HOW He is going to help us. He knows WHEN he is going to help us. His faith will fill in the gaps of our faith. He won’t give up when we give up. Our faith is not just about us and what we believe and how much we trust. It also depends on HIS faith in Himself.

Psalm 119:75 tells us : **that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me. ** The Lord allows trials in our lives because He is growing our faith AND He is showing us HIS!!

Finally, we all know Lamentations 3: ** It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. **

Our hope is in the Lord. Not in ourselves.

When we face a tough trial that stretches our faith to the max, we can hope in Him, because no matter how bad things get, His faith will never fail.

The 6 Ways to Increase our Faith? Pray. Promises. Remember. Accept. Abundance. God is God. No matter what troubles we face.