Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

Growing Faith

2 Thessalonians 1v3 “Your faith is growing more and more.’”

As my 80 year old father sat in his harness at the top of a Zip wire in Snowdonia yesterday, he could have backed out. He could have looked down at the huge drop below and think, “that is dangerous, I stand no chance, what if ….” . Or, he could look up at the thick wire, the careful assembly of his harness and carabiners, the testimony of those who have gone before, and decide to entrust himself to these things. When the gate opened, he could either lift his feet and go, or stay where he was.

Faith is not something static, but something that grows like a muscle. A successful journey down one zip wire, builds faith to do it again.

Paul commends the Thessalonians for their growing faith. If you are walking with God, it is natural that your faith must also be growing. Why? Because the more you experience of Him, the more you trust Him and find Him trustworthy, then, the more your faith in Him grows.

How can we tell whether our faith has grown? We can tell by the way we react to what goes on in the world around us and our willingness to do what God tells us in His Word. When someone hurts me, am I more likely to forgive them than I used to be? When things go wrong, am I more likely to persevere than I used to be? As we saw on Sunday, Joseph’s ability to persevere against the equally persevering difficulties and to forgive his malicious brothers, rested on his knowledge and experience of God: God who is both the ultimate judge and the One who brings about what is good, even in evil. This is spiritual maturity.

When the disciples were challenged about forgiveness, they asked, “Lord increase our faith.” (Luke 17v5) Jesus replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the see,’ and it will obey you.” You only need just enough faith to speak or act. May God give you that faith today.

 

With love and blessing,

Roland