Increase Your Faith!
Happy New Year! Welcome to Joni and Friends where we grow in faith.
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada, and I pray God’s blessings over you in this new year; and part of that blessing is that your faith might grow. For although faith is a gift from God, it can be enlarged. Your faith can grow; it can become stronger. In other words, you can believe God more. And as I just said, one way to grow your faith in Christ is to look at your sufferings as a chance to enlarge your confidence in God. Like, whenever I’m struggling with pain, or disappointment because of my disability; whenever this wheelchair begins to feel overwhelming; when trials begin to pile on, I cry out. I mean, really, literally, just like the disciples did in Luke chapter 17. They were in a tight spot; they had nowhere to turn, and they knew – they literally knew that their faith was weak. They realized they had trouble believing Jesus. And so, they cried out to him, “Lord, increase our faith!”
There are times I have trouble believing God. There are times when those tight spots feel so tight, they suffocate my faith. My life in Christ feels small and shriveled, and I literally know that my faith is weak. And during those times when I’m hurting, I know I need a larger, roomier capacity to believe God more. My soul needs to be stretched so I can trust Jesus as I should. And the good news? When we’re suffering, God wants to increase our faith; He will give us a larger capacity to trust Him; He’ll be happy to stretch the square footage of your soul for Himself.
And it begins with His promises. Because the Bible says faith comes by hearing the Word of God. And strong faith happens when we not only hear the Word, but put it into practice. That’s how you make it strong. Though the mountains may fall, Lord God, I’ll trust in You. Because You are my ever-present help in trouble. You’ve promised never to leave me or forsake me. You promise Your right hand will guide me, and that Your everlasting arms’ll support me. You promise that reading Your Word will sustain my life, and that you won’t let me be tested beyond what I can endure with Your help. You promise that as I trust You, You’ll give me hope overflowing. I say to my Savior, “Jesus, these are all promises from Your Word, and you know what? I am holding fast to each of them. And, as I do, increase my faith, would You? Increase my confidence in You. Enlarge my capacity to believe You more and, yes, to even rely on You more. Because only then I’ll be happy. Only then will I be content if my problems don’t change. Only then will I be satisfied if things get worse. Or if my wheelchair gets harder.”
Friend, that’s the way to live; it’s the Christian way to live; the right way to live; the only way to live. Life is hard. And you’re going to feel overwhelmed in this new year; I just guarantee it. This year’s gonna be filled with challenges that could shipwreck your faith. Don’t let it happen. Safeguard your faith. Join me in feeding on the Word of God every day by signing up for my daily e-devotional. ʼCause I want to walk – or maybe I should say, “I want to wheel” – I want to wheel through 2020 with you every morning. So, go to joniradio.org where I have posted a link so you can easily sign up and receive my e-devotional day by day. These daily readings are rich with encouragement; and I share wonderful biblical insights that’ll help increase my faith in the Lord. So, join me on the journey. Go to Joni radio.org and receive my e-devotional all throughout this new year. It’ll be a Happy New Year as you watch your faith grow.
© Joni and Friends
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