This is going to be real, y’all. Probably ugly-crying real. (Pretty much any time I talk about ways to grow in your faith, I cry!) I was so convicted today.
It actually started a few weeks ago…maybe I mentioned it already, but I have two kids who attend public school for one class each–of course, not at the same time. My youngest daughter receives services for special needs at the school as well, so when you add in extra-curricular activities after school, I really do drive to the school up to eight times on any given day! It’s a lot and even though I am thankful that we can use our public school resources this way, I complain…a lot!
On a side note, I wrote this post before the COVID-19 crisis and now, I have a break from bringing my kids to school. Great! But I also know that comes at a cost for a lot of people (including myself because I teach part-time at the school) and I’m longing for things to just go back to normal so people can have their incomes back! (Another conviction that I need to be more grateful for what I have and what matters!)
In any case, one morning, my husband had left a YouTube video up when he was using my computer. (He insists it wasn’t on purpose and had no hidden message attached to it!) It was a docu-series called, “The Most Dangerous Ways to School.” This one happened to be set in India and, well, if you’ve ever complained about having to drive your kids to school…like I have…you will be absolutely convicted of your ungrateful attitude when you watch it.
So, there was that. Then, I picked up our Voice of the Martyrs copy. The front cover featured a woman covered in scars after the suicide bombings that took place in Indonesian churches. The article highlighted the stories of some of the survivors including one who lost both of her sons and one who can no longer touch her own child because of the scarring and sensitivity of her skin.
And do you know what the pastor of their church said after his church was bombed? “Maybe we don’t understand, but I am sure that God is still good. His will is perfect for us. Don’t get angry toward God; God is still good.”
Bring on the ugly tears! I cannot tell you how many times I’ve said something disrespectful to my Father, my God, when He hasn’t done things my way! Many times, when I’ve been hurting, I have been so angry at God for allowing these circumstances for me.
Yet, these circumstances that I hate so much are the very circumstances that allow me to grow in my faith!
And even though my pain and my hurt are real and significant to God, I need to repent of this entitled attitude! Eww. Everything I don’t want my kids to be—spoiled and entitled—I have become.
That grieves me deeply…and yet, not enough. It is difficult to come face to face with the sin I have allowed in my life, but it really should grieve me so much that I can’t sleep at night…and it doesn’t. Oof. I need to repent.
So, I am re-visiting this post at the end of December with the hopes that one of your New Year’s Resolutions will be to build and grow in your faith this year.
Let’s get into five things you can do to grow your faith, build your relationship with the Lord stronger, and help you to be more receptive when the Holy Spirit convicts you of sin.
If 2020 taught us anything, it’s that we can’t count on a smooth-sailing year! Be ready to weather anything by ensuring that your faith is strong, heading into this new year.
Five Ways to Help Grow Your Faith
- Surround yourself with solid resources—
This may be friends who inspire you by speaking of their own convictions; reading material that opens your eyes to the world; radio programs that call you to live a life walking humbly with your God—they all encourage us to go deeper with the Lord.
The most solid resource you could possibly have is the Bible. If you know the Bible well, you will know if other resources are worth spending your time with. There are SO MANY false teachers out there.
If you’re not reading God’s Word, how will you know if what your friend believes is truth? How will you know if that magazine you read was on point? Humans are sinful. They make mistakes and sometimes teach the wrong things.
- Join a Bible study—
I do strongly caution you here—many of today’s “Bible studies” are actually just book studies. Be careful about this. Book studies are not always bad, but be sure that the book you are studying is written by a godly author who has a good handle on the Word of God.
(In case you haven’t noticed, a majority percentage of today’s “Christian” books should go directly in the garbage).
Basically, almost anything that is a best seller should be crossed off your list. Sure, there are a few exceptions, but generally, an author willing to speak Biblical truth will not become a best-seller. Most people want a very watered-down, “God is feel-good love” version of the Gospel.
If you’re not an author willing to do that, your books just won’t sell as well. Keep that in mind when you’re searching for books to supplement your Bible-reading. I recommend steering clear of any of what I call the “Christian Pop Stars” who make it difficult to tell if they’ve ever actually read the Bible.
First, get to know God’s Word in order to know if someone else’s writing aligns or not! Also, just be careful, in general, about replacing the Word of God with someone else’s take on the Word of God! Christian books are meant to replace secular books. They are NOT meant to replace the Bible–just like leggings were meant to replace tights, not pants! (Can I get an Amen!?)
- Find an older, godly woman you can admire–
If you want to grow in your faith, find a role model.
Think about a godly woman in your life. Why do you admire her? I adopted an older lady years ago as my grandmother. She is one of the godly women I admire.
I have rarely heard her speak a negative word about anyone and she has more compassion for the unsaved than anyone I know! She spends her time with the constant goal of bringing others one step closer to the Savior. She inspires me to be better and to examine my own goals in life.
This woman spends time in God’s Word and in prayer. There is no question that she loves the Lord and serves Him with her life. Of course, just like anyone else, she sins and there are issues that need to be worked out.
In fact, once, she asked me to pray for her relationship with her daughter because her daughter was very angry with her. Knowing the surrounding circumstances, I could understand her daughter’s pain.
But here’s the thing. When this woman asked me to pray for them, she didn’t ask me to pray that her daughter would come around. She said, “Would you please pray that God will show me where I have caused pain? Please pray that we will each see our sin so that our relationship can be restored.”
She has taught me so much just by being a godly woman.
- Spend time praying—
I usually spend around a half hour of just solid prayer time in the morning, though honestly, I pray all day every day just to keep everyone alive! That half-hour is invaluable to me!
I read a story once about a woman who thought, “I am too busy to pray today.” But by the time she had lived and learned a little, she changed her thought to, “I am too busy not to pray today.”
That is so true for me! There were years that I thought, “I pray all through the day,” which was true, but setting aside that time for just God is the most important thing I could possibly do.
And as important as it is for me, you would think that I would never ever skip it; but I am tempted to do something else every.single.day during that time. It is seriously ridiculous.
- Allow your spouse to challenge you—
WARNING! WARNING! You do have to be pretty mature to do this! I’m definitely not all the way there yet—maybe not even close. If my husband wants to point out a character flaw or challenge me to become closer to the Lord with some specific ideas, he must tread VERY lightly.
But it is necessary! Iron sharpens iron. Sometimes, you may butt heads with your husband and it can challenge you first of all, not to commit murder, but also to become closer to the Lord.
This is a good thing! If you have a husband who cares enough about your walk with Christ to challenge you once in a while, that is a blessing straight from the Lord!
I know, it’s hard to recognize that when it’s coming at you. This is an area I have learned a lot from my husband in. He is a much newer Christian than I am and his childhood and upbringing were very different from mine.
But my husband is so humble when it comes to my pointing out things, especially with parenting, that I think need to change. He listens and does not get defensive, but instead, does his very best to be the best he can be.
It is beyond impressive! And I have so much to learn…because when he does the same to me…well, the reaction isn’t always as kind!
This is definitely a way I can grow in my faith and improve in the new year!
Final Thoughts on Growing Your Faith
Boy! When the Holy Spirit convicts me of something, and I repent, Satan is right there to put me to the test! I am repentant of my complaining over the MOST selfish things, but Satan keeps throwing more irritating things at me—just trying to get me to complain.
This has been A WEEK—a week of little things that don’t need to irritate me as much as they do and a week filled with so many blessings, I don’t even notice them all! I’m hesitant to do it, but I need to ask the Holy Spirit to continue to convict me!
Because if there’s one thing I want for the next year, it’s to keep growing in my faith—walking closely and humbly with my God!
How about you? Is there something you need to confess? I don’t need to know about it, but sometimes, the first place to start is being real!
RElated: A Lesson on Faith
