Hang on

Don't let go! 

Many times, the key to having great faith is just that simple: Hang on. Don't let go.

A lot of church-attenders I have known get pretty pharisaic when it comes to believing what God will or won't do—or worse, what He does or doesn't think or have in mind. By that, I mean that they will say, with an air of self-satisfaction, the things that will give them an excuse when their efforts to fix things without faith don't work out. Quite often, these are the same folks described in 2 Timothy 3:5 who have a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof.

Then there is another group who are Christian beggars.  By that, I mean that they will beg God to give them "more faith" without ever realizing that faith is more about a quality-value of choice than it is an amount to be possessed. Jesus spoke of faith in qualitative terms as being strong, diminished, or non-existent. He did not use quantitative adjectives like copious or teeny. If you choose to believe God, then you have faith. If you are not believing His word, then having "more" unbelief will only destroy what little you started with faster or more severely.

Neither of those groups are true worshipers of God. Their relationship with the Lord is closer to being a client or a patron than it is a family member who gives love, shares companionship, and receives a place in the heart where the relationship is truly treasured.

Faith is a choice to believe God. Strong faith is sticking with that choice when circumstances refute it, peers dispute it, and enemies belittle it.

Hanging On

The testing of one's faith should be expected.  Ezekiel (21:13) said it plainly, "Testing will surely come."  In the New Testament, James (1:3) gives a reason for it, "you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance." Jesus used a parable to convey this idea; in His seed and soils metaphor, the "hanging on" and staying connected is done with the root. "But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away (Luke 18:3)."   For human beings, the hanging on is done with a heart of faith.

It surely helps when the emotions line up in support, but emotions can be traitorous and they will often betray the choice of your spirit to believe God.

 As we covered in a previous lesson from the runaway bride, faith without works is dead. cf James 2:17. Bible scholar Matthew Henry describes it this way, "Faith is the root, good works are the fruits; and we must see to it that we have both."

The Lesson
Coming full circle and building on past lessons, it is not hard to see that hanging on is the hard work of faith. The disciples even asked about this:

Therefore they said to Him, "What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?" Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent." John 6:28, 29

The "work" is that you believe in Him!  If you believe in Him, then you believe what He says. Once He has told you something, faith won't question it. If your faith is wavering, then there is help for that. I don't have time to expand on many "how to" points here, but two of them are (a) recalling history that shows God's faithfulness, and (b) knowing His character. (He does not lie; He does not change.)

If believing in Him is doing the works of God, then doubting Him is doing the un-working of His plan.