How’s Your Faith Doing?

A Faith Moment in My Life

As a young man learning to live by faith, God led me to a Gideon¹ moment – Gideon was a young man whom God asked to lead 300 men to attack an army described as “thick as locusts” with camels “as countless as the sand on the seashore.” In my case, God asked me to walk away from the best job I’d ever had in my life. This wasn’t foolish faith, like jumping out of an airplane without a parachute. It was faith validated by God.

I spent many nights wrestling with God about what He asked me to do. Finally, I stepped out in faith. I gave my two weeks’ notice with no prospect of employment. On the last day of my job, “from out of the blue,” I received a phone call from the head of the Electronics Department for IVY Tech (known then as Indiana Vocational Technical College), asking me if I would consider becoming a full-time instructor of advanced industrial electronics! As fast as a New York minute, I said yes. I finished my last day of work and the following Monday. Only God could have done that.

This all happened because God had a gift for me, but it was only available through faith in Him.

Getting Faith

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Romans 10:17 ESV – Bible Gateway

The meaning of “the word of Christ” is the message of the Gospel’s message, first delivered by Christ Jesus and then propagated by His believers. Faith is quite amazing. As we see, faith is a gift. This gift from God remains with us throughout all eternity. We don’t receive gifts of faith, getting a new one when the old one runs out. No, this gift of faith that we receive brings us salvation, enables us to fulfill God’s call upon our lives, and remains with us throughout eternity.

The End Goal of Faith

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ

Romans 5:1 KJV – Bible Gateway

The faith we receive is the same faith that “is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen².” It is the same faith that brings us peace with God. Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith³. Perfecting means that Jesus brings our faith to its intended goal, which is worship that is acceptable to God and presented in His presence (Hebrews 10:14; 11:40; 12:28).

Throughout all of our new life and on into eternity, we have the same gift we received at the very beginning of our life in Christ Jesus. So, how is your gift of faith doing? Are you growing as a Christian? Do you see evidence of your faith being in a process of perfection? I pray the same for you that I pray for me: Jesus, use all of me!

** No part of this article was produced by artificial intelligence (AI). **

Footnote

1. Judges 6 – English Standard Version. (n.d.). Bible Gateway. Retrieved March 6, 2024, from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Judges%206&version=ESV ↩︎
2. Hebrews 11:1 – English Standard Version. (n.d.). Bible Gateway. Retrieved March 6, 2024, from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews%2011%3A1&version=ESV ↩︎
3. Hebrews 12:2 – English Standard Version. (n.d.). Bible Gateway. Retrieved March 6, 2024, from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews%2012%3A2&version=ESV ↩︎