To be a victorious Christian, you need to have strong faith in God. As a matter of fact, faith is essential for believers and non-believers alike.
It is an important concept of life. We need it to get through life because all of us go through trials.
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Know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.
So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified. Galatians 2:16 N.I.V
The truth is you cannot call yourself a Christian if you don’t have faith. It is a basic requirement in Christianity. Believing God exists and He sent His son Jesus to die for our sins is what makes us followers of Christ.
It is what makes us the light and salt of the earth.
It is not enough to say you have faith. You need to walk the talk, practice what you profess.
Today, we will look at the importance of strong faith. We shall also look at what the Bible says about faith. And ways that Christians can strengthen their faith.
So let’s begin:
Table of Contents
What does the Bible say about Strong Faith
Strong Faith Is Dependent on God, Not Self
There are disciplines we need to practice to strengthen our faith. But praying and reading the word only doesn’t automatically make your faith strong.
If that was so, the Pharisees would have believed that Jesus is the son of God (John 5:46). They wouldn’t have hated and persecuted Him.
The strength of your faith doesn’t depend on you but on the one you believe in. If you believe in God with all your heart and focus on Him completely, then your faith will be strong. But if you focus on yourself and your works, your faith will grow weak.
It is the Assurance of Things Hoped for
Some people say that they will believe when they see. But that is not what strong faith in God is. A person with strong faith believes that something will happen even without any physical evidence.
Strong faith means having a conviction that the promise of God will come to pass (Hebrews 11:1). It doesn’t focus on what people or circumstances say.
Strong faith focuses on what God says. You need to stand firm in the word of God and believe that He will fulfill His promise.
We need to Stretch Our Faith for it to be Strong
We have all been given a measure of faith (Romans 12:3). All children of God have been given the same kind of faith that Jesus had when He was on earth. But for us to do exploits for God, we need to put our faith into practice.
Don’t sit back and wait for your problems to go away. Do not run away from problems or look for quick solutions that are outside God’s will. Your faith needs to be stretched, and here is how:
Also Related: 13 Proven Ways to Strengthen Your Faith in God.
Ways to Strengthen your Faith
Strong Faith in God Comes from Hearing the Gospel
You cannot claim to have strong faith if you don’t spend quality time in the word of God. It’s only by hearing the word of God, not just once but repeatedly, that we strengthen our faith. To have strong faith, you need to be intentional about reading the word of God. (Romans 10:17)
Make Bible study a daily habit. Do not just read the word so that you can check it off your to-do list. Ask God to give you divine understanding so that your faith can be quickened as you study the word.
Trust God
While many people claim that they trust God, only a few people do. Trusting God sounds easy, but it is not. It takes courage for one to leave behind what you are accustomed to and follow God.
It took courage for Abraham to leave his family and country to go to a new place. (Genesis 12:1)
But it is only through trusting God that we can strengthen our faith.
Focus on the plans God has for you and not yours. Believe that your heavenly Father will accomplish His purposes in your life, and do not waver.
Your faith will become as you continue to stand firm.
Pray
The truth is we cannot be strong all the time. We need help from God to stand firm and remain grounded in Him. Prayer helps us to hold on to our faith when all we want to do is quit.
Prayer changes our hearts and the way we see God. When we ask God for things according to His will, and He answers us, our faith becomes strong. Not just that, but it is through prayer that we ask God to strengthen us in our weak times.
Meditate on the Goodness of God
We serve an awesome God. There are many great things He has done and will continue to do in our lives.
When you find yourself wavering in faith, you need to take time and meditate on the goodness of God.
If you have been a Christian for some time, then there are fantastic things God has done in your life.
Remember how God came through when you had lost all hope. If you don’t have any testimonies look for other people’s testimonies and see how God came through for them.
You can also study God’s word and see how he fulfilled his promises to different Bible characters.
Study Bible stories of people like Hannah, Abraham, Daniel, and Esther. See how God came through for them and believe that He will do the same for you.
Testimonies remind us of God’s faithfulness and help us to have strong faith.
Practice the Word of God
It is not enough for us to study the word of God. We need to also put it into practice.
Jesus said, come judgment day, there are people he will tell, ‘I never knew you.’ Understand that these are not people who did not know Jesus. They will be people who claimed to be Christians while on earth. (Matthew 7:21-23)
But why will Jesus deny them? They never lived out their faith. They did not put the word of God into practice. A person with a strong faith in God practices what they study in the word.
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Live A Victorious Christian Life
Importance of Having Strong Faith
Strong Faith Pleases God
God’s great love for us causes us to want to please Him. But a look in the scripture, and you will realize that your good works alone cannot please God.
Our righteousness is as filthy rags before God, and it is only the blood of Jesus that causes us to be pleasing to Him. (Isaiah 64:6)
If we could please God with our works, then we would not need Jesus. Our actions would take us to heaven. If you genuinely desire to please God, start with having strong faith in Him.
Believing that God is true, He exists, and will reward you for diligently seeking Him is what will please Him. When God is pleased with you, He blesses you in ways that you can never imagine. And the more He blesses you, the stronger your faith gets.
It Justifies Us
As we’ve already seen, our good works cannot make us righteous before God. No matter how good someone is, if they don’t have faith in Jesus, they will not receive eternal life. We will always fail and fall short of the glory of God.
Only the blood of Jesus justifies us. But we need to believe that Jesus came and died on the cross for us. We need to believe that it is through His shed blood that we have been forgiven all our sins.
And made righteous before God. It is your faith in Jesus that will justify you.
Moves God to Act
Our heavenly Father can do exceedingly abundantly for us. There is nothing too difficult for God. But for His promises and purpose to come true in our lives, we need to have strong faith in God.
Doubt blocks God from fulfilling His promises in our lives. Faith is like a title deed. Just the way you need the title deed to own a particular piece of land is the same way you need faith to possess your promise.
If you have been asking God for something but haven’t received it, maybe you should check your faith. Are you genuinely believing God for what you are asking for?
If you have been asking God for a particular thing but doubt his capabilities to give it to you, then it will be hard for God to act on your behalf.
Strong Faith in God Strengthens Us in Hard Times
No matter how spiritually strong one is, they will go through some hard times in this life. None of us is better than our master Jesus. Just the way Jesus went through different trials and tribulations that is the way we shall go through them.
But that should not discourage us. The Bible says that our present suffering is nothing compared to the great things God has in store for us. Your strong faith in God will strengthen you in hard times.
As other people give up on life, you will remain strong because you will be fully anchored on God. When you fall, you’ll get back up again because you know that God is faithful. And He will come through for you in the end.
In Hebrews 11, we see how different patriarchs did not give up; they believed God to the end. Their strong faith enabled them to stand firm in the middle of trials.
It is also their faith that caused them to believe in God to the end. Even though they did not get to see the great country that God had promised them.
Encourages Others
Did you know that you are the only Bible that some unbelievers will get to read?
The people of this world may not study the Bible, but they pay close attention to believers’ actions. They are not interested in how many Bible verses you can quote but how true you are to the word of God.
The Bible calls us the light of the world (Matthew 5:14-16). Meaning that the world is drawn to the things of God through our actions. Yes, some people will give their lives to Christ after hearing preaching, but the majority are attracted by our deeds.
Your strong faith in God will draw unbelievers to God. It will also encourage those Christians who are dealing with unbelief to keep standing firm in the faith. Strengthening our faith is not just for our own good but also for the good of others.
It’s the Foundation of Our Salvation
To be a real Christian, you need to walk by faith and not by what you see (2 Corinthians 5:7).
Faith is the foundation of Christianity. You cannot have one or the other. They go hand in hand. You need to believe that there is more to this world than what you see.
We need to believe in Jesus Christ. Being fully God,He left the comfort of heaven and came in human flesh to save the world.
Our faith in Jesus is the foundation on which our Christian faith is built on. Other religions believe that there is a god, but they do not believe in the one true God.
We don’t have a shortcut to the things of God. We need to believe in the Bible and everything it says. Need to build our faith around what is written in it because it is only in doing so that we attain salvation.
Gives Us Hope
There are times when life becomes so hard that it becomes easy for us to give up altogether. Recent happenings have left many of us vulnerable, and we have seen an increase in suicide rates even among believers. As times get tough, we need to also toughen up.
But this cannot happen if we do it the world’s way. The knowledge of this world will not help us to withstand all the trials and temptations. It is our strong faith in God that will enable us to remain firm when life becomes unbearable.
Knowing that God loves us so much is what keeps us strong when the enemy intensifies His attacks on us. Our strong faith gives us hope when the people of the world lose hope. We live knowing that even if things don’t go our way, we shall enjoy eternal life.
Strong Faith in God is a Shield
Even though Jesus won the battle at the cross, we still live in a fallen world.
The enemy fights us in every possible way so that he can kill our faith in God. But why does he do that? It is because he knows that our faith in God is a powerful weapon.
Faith is a shield through which we protect ourselves against the attacks of the enemy. We are told in Ephesians 6:13 to take up the shield of faith.
It is our firm faith that enables us to overcome all the traps that have been set before us. Strong faith also allows us to accomplish the purposes of God on earth.
We don’t have to be scared of the enemy. Our strong faith in God will help quench all the fiery darts he throws our way. Our faith will enable us to come out victorious at the end, irrespective of how the enemy attacks us.
Strong Faith Fuels What We Do
When we study the Bible and the History of Christianity, we see how people did great things for God. Now the interesting thing about them is that they were just ordinary men and women like us. There was nothing so special about them.
Although these people did different things, they had one thing in common: their faith in God. Though they faced different trials and tribulations, these people stood firm in faith and believed in God. They did not allow their circumstances to detect their future.
Firm faith will fuel what you do. It will help you stand firm and accomplish your purpose to the end. When things get tough, you’ll run to God for help as you continue to fight the good fight of faith
All in all:
You cannot call yourself a Christian if you don’t have faith in God. Faith in God Almighty through His son Jesus is the foundation of Christianity. It’s what separates us Christians from other religions. And it‘s also the ticket to us experiencing eternal life.
Faith acts like a shield. It protects us from the darts of the enemy. It gives us hope in hopeless situations and encourages others to become believers.
Although we have been given a measure of faith, it is crucial for us to have strong faith in God. Without faith, we cannot please God or be able to win the spiritual battle we are in.
We need to grow our faith through bible study, prayer, and meditating on the goodness of God. Failure to work on our faith will cause us to become weak. This, in turn, will cause us to live defeated lives.
