There’s a tree that I can see from the window of our house where I drink my coffee in the mornings. Over the years, I’ve watched this tree grow in the corner of our yard. Its branches extend high and spread wide, creating a canopy over the driveway and reaching across our neighbor’s fence. In the fall, I love to see its heart-shaped leaves change from green to yellow to orange, and in the spring, I look forward to its pretty blossoms. It’s a healthy tree, and it appears to be pretty happy, too. Its steady growth produces changes that are beautifully represented in its cool shade, its outstretched arms, its budding flowers, and its falling leaves. The tree makes me think about the faith of a Christian: a faith that should grow with the passing of time. Growth is good. Change is good. Both are even better when they bring us into a closer relationship with God and a deeper submission to His will: a beautiful representation of a healthy spirit.
In the Bible, Enoch is described as a man who “walked with God” (Genesis 5:24), and Hebrews 11:5 also tells us that Enoch “pleased God”. If we read just a little further, the writer of Hebrews explains that it is impossible to please God without faith. So, if Enoch walked with God and was pleasing to Him, we can be sure that Enoch was a man of faith. I imagine that Enoch was also a man of growing faith because someone who lives in deep, daily communion with God cannot remain spiritually stagnant. Throughout Scripture, we find that encounters with God elicit responses: confession, fear, reverence, praise, clarity, direction, confidence, renewal, hope, and many others. The same is true today. When we pursue intimate fellowship with God, we do not remain unaffected. We grow. We grow in meaningful, life-changing ways, and one of those ways involves our walk of faith.
A growing faith is the result of seeking God, coming to know Him, submitting to His will, and trusting Him with your life. It’s not easy. Its growth comes with a great deal of difficulty and no shortage of tears. As my son navigated through his early teenage years, there were countless nights that he woke up with excruciating muscle pains in his legs and feet. I remember giving him medicine, massaging his calves or shins for some relief, and all the while reassuring him with the words, “Everything is okay; you’re just growing!” Growth stretches us, pulls us, pushes us, forces us to get up and get moving, and calls on us to believe that it’s all happening to make us better. I need to remember that on the nights when I wake up thinking about something painful that I’m experiencing in my life, God—my Healer, my Helper, and my Comfort—is right there with me, whispering in the darkness, “Everything is okay, you’re just growing.”
What does a growing faith look like? How do we pursue it, and then how do we embrace it?
First, we choose to be women who walk with God every day. We decide it before we ever step out of bed. This means that we commit to following His will and that we trust His plan for our lives. (Already I feel my spiritual muscles stretching!).Trusting God is not easy! A Google search of the word “trust” provides this definition: “a firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something.” It’s hard to practice complete, uninhibited trust in God when you feel discouraged—when nothing in your life seems to be falling into place—when what you’ve prayed so passionately for is not being answered in the way you expected. We know the response to all of these feelings is to trust! But, oh, how much easier said than done. This is where the next step comes in: we have to pray. We have to stay in conversation with God throughout our days. Prayer connects us to God. When we talk to Him, it grows our faith because we must believe that He is, and that He hears, and that He cares. If you are struggling with trusting God, try lifting up these precious words that David spoke to Him:
“You number my wanderings; put my tears in Your bottle; Are they not in Your book”? When I cry out to You, then my enemies will turn back; this I know because God is for me. In God (I will praise His word), In the Lord (I will praise His word), In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” (Psalm 56:8–11)
Next, we have to increase our understanding of His will. This comes from careful study of God’s Word, and according to Romans 10:17, His Word is the source of our faith. The Bible tells us that we should grow in knowledge (2 Peter 3:18) and that our appetite for the knowledge of His Word should advance from milk to meat (1 Peter 2:2–3; Hebrews 5:12–14; and 1 Corinthians 3:1–3). The more we understand the will of God which has been revealed to us in Scripture, and the more we submit to it and live it out daily, the more our faith will grow. But, this takes discipline, humility, and sacrifice—growing pains that will ultimately lead to a more mature faith. Faith that grows is also a faith that is encouraged and developed through community. The Bible instructs us to “seek wise counsel” (Proverbs 1:5) and to find “safety” and “victory” through counselors (Proverbs 11:14; Proverbs 24:6). Godly mentors can provide spiritual guidance and teaching in order to strengthen our faith. As fellow Christians, we edify each other in love for the overall growth of the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:15–16).
The picture that is painted in Scripture is that very often it is when our faith is challenged—and we remain standing—that the most significant growth occurs. Women who daily walk with God will face trials, but we will come through stronger, with a faith that testifies to the goodness of God. But, we’ll talk about that next time…
