Three Encounters to Grow Our Faith

What are you contending for in faith? This side of eternity, we will never be in a place in which we’re not being called to greater faith. As I sat in my own season of stretching, the Lord began to unpack a series of encounters over several weeks that became an invitation for my own faith to grow. 

One morning I woke up with the phrase “the mystery of faith” on my mind. While this is a common phrase in the English language, the word “mustérion” (translated as mystery) is actually most often used with the Kingdom of God. Faith and the Kingdom of God are actually irreversibly intertwined. When we are pressing into our faith, we are actually growing the Kingdom of God. To grow our faith, we must grow in our ability to abide in the mystery. This “mustérion” means mystery or secret that is beyond human understanding and requires revelation from God. 

The root “muo” means to literally shut one’s mouth. I heard the Lord’s still small voice say, “To grow your faith, you must first shut your mouth”. The purpose of shutting our mouths is that we must listen before we speak when leading with faith. That revelation that only comes from God must land in our spirits first. Otherwise, when we open our mouths, what will come out instead is our human reasoning, answers, and plans. To win Jericho, God asked them to shut their mouth until the appointed time. Zechariah had his mouth shut until he was ready to declare over his new son in alignment with God’s plans. The first key to growing our own faith is to shut our mouths first. To abide in the mystery before we explain, assume, act, or rationalize. 

Encounter: Ask the Lord to bring to mind what area He is birthing faith in you for. Then, sit quietly in the middle of the unknowns and ask, “God, what are you needing me to hear? What can I declare in this area?”. The God whose understanding far surpasses our own will give us declarations with His revelation if we take long enough to shut our mouths first.

Another morning, I was in Hebrews 11, which always comes to mind with faith. Verse six caught my attention with fresh eyes. It reads: “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him”. Believing God is a rewarder. What would it mean to live and move like God is a rewarder? Admittedly, believing God is good, or God is able, is somehow easier than believing God is a rewarder. This speaks to an aspect of the heart of God. Then the Lord revealed to me the connection between faith and an aspect of His heart.

Every call of faith is connected to a facet of His goodness. We can see this Biblically in the names of God. When Gideon had His encounter in the winepress, the Lord appeared to him speaking, “Peace! Don’t be afraid. You are not going to die (Judges 6:23), and as a result Gideon built an alter to Jehovah Shalom (Judges 6:24). His faith breakthrough was in experiencing the heart of God as peace. This peace wasn’t the absence of conflict but confident victory in conflict. The word “Shalom” captures how the Lord appeared to Gideon. Similarly, for us, the opportunity to step out in faith is given in the context of God revealing a facet of His goodness. The greatest purpose of any leap of faith is to become more intimate with the heart of God. 

Encounter: Lord, what aspect of Your character or Your goodness do you want this current leap of faith to reveal to me? Use the name of God as a good starting place. As we learn to discern what part of God’s heart He is drawing us near to, we learn to see our faith journey with a new lens. This is the ultimate growth.

The final encounter involved the mustard seed. When I was seeking the Lord about growing my faith, the first thing I thought of was to do big things and see big things. To make my effort bigger. The Lord began to challenge my thinking about the size of our faith. I heard in my spirit, “The small will become invasive”. Sure enough, the type of mustard thought to be prevalent in the area at the time when the famous Scriptures were penned was the black mustard seed. This species is invasive, meaning that when planted in new areas that it does not typically inhabit, it grows quickly (up to six feet tall!) and pervasively, even changing landscapes because it outcompetes native plants.

Similarly, when we plant seeds of faith, we’re planting Kingdom of God seeds in nonnative soil (earth). Those small things have the potential and potency to become prolific with the right conditions. We must keep our eyes on the small things. The 1% survival rate that happens despite doctor predictions, the one salvation from the church service that will have ripples into eternity, the one testimony heard in passingthat becomes the key for the freedom for someone else. As we focus on the little, the little becomes invasive.

But the size of our faith isn’t the only thing that matters. In fact, when Jesus says, “You of little faith” in Matthew 14:31 to Peter, that word for little is “oligos”. It can mean few in number or short in duration. Interestingly, this was spoken in the midst of a storm. Peter began walking to Jesus on the water, but after a short time he sank. This storm had just kicked up when the disciples were leaving the site at which Jesus had multiplied the FEW fishes and loaves. This word would have reminded Peter of the miracle He had just done a BRIEF WHILE ago. It’s almost as if Jesus was saying, “Remember what I can do with a few? Why did your faith last so shortly?”. With this new perspective of faith over time verses the size of our faith, God brought me to a third encounter. 

Encounter: Jesus, in this season of contending in faith, what “little” testimonies do I need to remember that are going to be the invasive things of tomorrow? In what place do I need to give faith a little more time?

Prayer: Father, we thank You that faith is a gift from You. That our faith doesn't get stronger when we try harder but when we surrender harder. Jesus, help us to hear You in these areas. Give us fresh vision and stamina for our faith. Above all, bring us a fresh intimacy with Your heart. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen