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Transcript:
Hello, welcome to Walking in Step with God. I am Steve McDonald. Today we explore the topic “Finding faith”
What is faith? How can faith affect our lives day to day? Today we are going to discuss the importance of faith in our walk with God and some of the things we can do to strengthen our faith. Day to day, we must have faith in many areas of our lives. One way to look at faith is the context of the need for trust. When we trust in someone or something, we have faith.
Let’s expand on the idea of finding faith into the idea of the embodiment of walking with and fully trusting God with your life. Another way to say “What can we do to find faith” is, “What can we do to find and strengthen our trust in God?”.
Today, we will explore 3 ways to find faith.
Before we dive in, why don’t we take a quick break? I will be right back.
Welcome back. Let’s continue discussing 3 ways to find faith. I believe these ways apply to all of us, even if you are brand new to the idea of faith.
#1 Look for God
How does one find God? Well, let’s remember that God is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. He is everywhere and in everything you see in nature. Today I am not focusing on how you can find God with what you can see, hear, or feel., I am inviting you to look for God from within, from your spirit.
It is not a complicated thing to open up a dialog with God. If week God He will hear us. It does not matter what you have done or have not done. All we need to do is take the first step toward Him. God wants a relationship with all of us and this should be the priority in your life.
If you have never prayed or spoken to God, I invite you to call His name in your mind and speak. You know that same voice in your mind when you are pushing yourself to run that extra block when jogging or maybe even reprimanding yourself for what you know was bad behavior. That’s the one. Do not be afraid or anxious. He longs to hear from you and for you to know Him. I invite you, even now to use that inner voice to simply speak whatever you wish to Him. In your dialog with Him, ask Him to show you how to have faith. As you close in your dialog with Him, make a note to return to that conversation with Him regularly, even daily or hourly. Whatever you choose, He is listening. Find time in your life to dialog with Him through prayer. The more you look for God, the stronger your faith will be. If you have never prayed or spoken to God, I invite you to call His name in your mind and speak. You know that same voice in your mind when you are pushing yourself to run that extra block when jogging or maybe even reprimanding yourself for what you know was bad behavior. That’s the one. Do not be afraid or anxious. He longs to hear from you and for you to know Him. I invite you, even now to use that inner voice to simply speak whatever you wish to Him. In your dialog with Him, ask Him to show you how to have faith. As you close in your dialog with Him, make a note to return to that conversation with Him regularly, even daily or hourly. Whatever you choose, He is listening. Find time in your life to dialog with Him through prayer. The more you look for God, the stronger your faith will be.
#2 Look for signs
After we have engaged in a dialog with God, we should walk forward expecting Him to reveal to us that He has heard us. This is a very important aspect of faith, knowing and trusting that the almighty God has actually heard your voice out of 8 billion people on earth and is still wanting and willing to show you His love for you.
What are the areas you have spoken to God about in your life? Whatever they may be, begin to look for signs of His influence. God knows your heart and He knows your motives.
Please listen to me very carefully. If you approach God with arrogance, doubt, and cynicism, then you should not expect to experience signs aligned with your request of Him. If, on the other hand, you posture your heart with humility, sincerity, and love for God, then keep your eyes, ears, and heart open to receiving signs that He has heard your prayer. I believe that God rewards those who have strong faith in Him with more frequent and compelling evidence of His work than those who have little faith in Him.
#3 Look for opportunities
Have you asked God for something in your life? Why not include in your request to show you how you can serve Him? While He does not need any of us, I believe God delights in our desire to serve Him and be an ambassador for Him on the earth.
Another important part of your walk in faith is service to others. Faith is not just about how and what you receive from God, it is deciding how you are going to show up in the world. It is deciding to help others even when you don’t feel like it. It is taking the moral high ground instead of going along with the crowd.
I encourage you to look for opportunities to serve God by being of service to others. Look for opportunities to show and share kindness. Give your time and resources to someone less fortunate. We can even ask God to send us into the world to be of service to Him. He can and will direct your paths to intersect with others who would benefit from your interaction. It may be counsel. It may be providing resources such as a donation. It may even be coming to the aid of a stranger in a way that only you can.
Keep an open mind and heart for opportunities to serve God; you will be amazed at where He sends you.
Wrap Up
In today’s episode, we discussed 3 ways to find faith and strengthen our faith. We learned the important first steps of seeking God and opening a dialog with Him if you have not and sharing your desire with Him to learn how to have faith. We learned to look for signs. To walk in faith with a posture of expectation vs doubt, that God has indeed heard every word you said and you are actively looking for how He will respond. Lastly, we discussed the importance of looking for opportunities to serve God. We discussed the fact that service to others is a strong component of faith and that God will gladly send us into the world to be of service to others if we ask Him
Faith is something that will transform your heart and transform your life. Ask God today how He can shine His light upon your faith.
Are you interested in discovering more about the guidance offered in this message? Learn more in the companion article Going Deeper with the Word: Finding faith
