Do you need stronger faith?

I have realized that there are many people who struggle with exercising their faith.  People who have been in church for years; holding leadership positions in ministry for years, and sing in groups and choirs about faith for years....BUT struggle with exercising faith.  I'm still in study about it fully but I think part of the issue is that as much as we would like to believe we do, we don't know God like we think we do; and our ignorance of God keeps us from placing so much trust in Him.  I do know though, that for everyone we all have different reasons as to what is keeping us from trusting God with our finances, with our relationships, with our lives...
Be honest today, whats really keeping you from trusting God?

So, I thought today about helping some people out based on what I have learned in my world.  I want to give some tips on how to have more faith in God.  These are not exhaustive AND trust me, I don't profess to be any type of guru with exercising my faith...LOL (God's still working on me!).  However I do believe that my faith is definitely stronger based on things I have experienced that I can pass on to others.

So here it is...How to strengthen your faith:

1. Read God's word.  How will you know what God has promised you if you don't know what he has said?  There are MANY of us who expect things from God that he hasn't said, and don't expect things from God that he has said.  So, find out for yourself what you can expect from God by reading what he has said.  I have learned that on the days when you don't feel like reading, just stay in the habit of reading something.  Get in the practice of hearing what God has said on a regular basis.  I can't stress this point enough, it is key to strengthening your faith.

2. STAY AWAY from faithless people. I have learned that it helps when you are around people who speak faith.  Many times, God will only give you a word, not your entire group of people that you hang out with, and when you speak what God has said it can sometimes be met with much misunderstanding or even jealousy from people who are both family and friends.  However when you need to exercise your faith you don't have room for people who are not in agreement with what God has said.  This is extremely crucial because I have learned for many of us, that people can talk us out of a promise!

3. Don't run from moments of pressure.  This is extremely hard but it helps!  Most medicine doesn't taste or feel good but...its ultimately good for you.  For most of us, as soon as we see trouble coming we run!  Anyone who works out regularly in the gym knows that in order to gain muscle and take away fat, you have to sweat.  The workouts aren't fun and at times you want to give up, but when you start looking in the mirror and seeing improvements...when you try on clothes that you were about to give away because you couldn't fit them and realize that you can wear it again; you realize that pain has a purpose!!!  Allow the times when you want to give up and run be used and times to push, to sweat, to exercise your faith!


God bless you today as you become stronger in Him!