Feeding your faith

"And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ." - Philippians 1:9,10

A century ago John Stockton wrote, "Only trust Him, only trust Him, Only trust Him now; He will save you, He will save you, He will save you now." Yet following the advice of Stockton is not always easy. It is easier to do it ourselves, to trust our resources, our skills, our doctors, our knowledge, even to gamble with the odds rather than to simply trust God. I would like to share three simple guidelines that will help you reach beyond the range of your own understanding and limitations and trust Him more.

Guideline #1. Stretch the muscle of your faith. Has God ever answered a prayer for you? Stop and remember. I am certain that you can single out at least one time when you prayed, and what you prayed for happened. When you stop and remember, you can probably think of many times you scored a direct hit, but all of those answers are dimmed by today’s needs.

For many years I kept a ledger of crises–situations that were really tough, and as the result of prayer, how God answered in a definite way. Human nature is such that you tend to forget yesterday’s answer–the money that He sent in, the way He brought healing to your sick body, the way He resolved the misunderstanding you prayed about. Its answer has been totally eclipsed by your present need, yet as you remind yourself of yesterday’s answer, it helps you to believe in God’s guidance and provision for today’s need.

Guideline #2. Be encouraged by the testimonies of others. "Wait a minute," you may be thinking. "Can I really believe God will meet me like He did somebody else?" You immediately think, "I am not a spiritual giant–I am just little old me." And immediately Satan seizes the twinge of doubt to create a complex of spiritual inferiority. Before you really believe this argument, ask yourself a few questions. "Does God have favorites?" Would He ignore me and favor someone else?" No! Then refuse to believe your doubts and feed your faith. The testimonies of other people will build your faith and help you to trust God more.

Guideline #3. If you want to know how to trust God more, then stand on the assurance of God’s Word. "No matter what may happen in our world, there are a few things you can count on which includes the promises of His Word. Annie Johnson Flint so beautifully wrote, "Hitherto the Lord hath helped us, Hitherto His hand hath led, Hitherto His arm protected, Hitherto His bounty fed; Will His love desert us wholly, Will His heart our need forget, Will His presence clean forsake us, Who has never failed us yet?" Yes, as George Stockton wrote, "Only trust Him, Only trust Him, Only trust Him now; He will save you, He will save you, He will save you now." May God help us to trust Him more today. - Resource reading: Philippians 1:12-18

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Guidelines for Finding Your Way is available in bookstores nationwide. For more information, write to Guidelines Philippines, Box 4000, 1284 Makati City or e-mail [email protected]. Visit our website www.guidelines.org.