Testing of Faith! Just let it grow!

 

Dear brothers and sisters, whenever troubles come your way, let it be an opportunity for joy.  For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.  So let it grow, for when endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything. (James 1:2-4)

You need to understand the mechanism of faith and how it functions to accept the testing.  Faith is for me an agreement I have made with God for him to be in control of my fate.  Everything that involves my faith and myself is in His hands.  Whatever he does goes.  This reasoning saves me a lot of headaches.  When he tests my faith, it helps me to do the important thing: To obey by rejoicing through my trials.  I realize though that faith involves actions on my part, but that a different story.  For now, faith is trust.

Now, let us all agree that none of us has arrived yet.  I am still learning with this.  But one thing I have found out is that faith is a seed and a plant that needs to be left alone and not disturbed...kind of like a plant in your garden.  When you leave faith alone and don't smother it with anxiety and fear, you can then rejoice in the storms and trials. Because you then realize that your faith needs those to grow and endure.  Endurance is crucial with the testing of your faith because it will cause you to become strong in character. (Verse 4)

Keeping the faith is crucial and so you have to protect it with all you might.  This seems a contradiction but, look is it not what a gardener would do about his or her most priced plants in a garden.  I am not a gardener, but I watch my wife care for her plants.  It involves a lot of work if done well.  You have to remove the weeds or they will suck all the moisture allocated for your plants.  Faith is kind of like that too, you have to funnel all your energy to keep your faith alive.  Put in the Word of God or turn to an online praise radio to be encouraged.  In today's world, you have absolutely no excuse for having a wilted faith.  You have God on your side and look at all the wealth he has made available to you to keep your faith alive.  In case you are wondering, I am listening to an online Christian radio right now called 'HOPE 100.7'

So whatever you feed your mind on a daily basis will speak volumes louder than your mere words about the kind of faith you have.

A gardener can boasts all he or she wants about how good of a gardener he or she is but first lets look at the garden and how healthy it is.

Has your faith been neglected or are you nurturing it the way God wants you to?  Check the parable of the sower and compare (Matthew 13:1-23)

Keep your faith fresh, God does not like it wilted!