5 Ways to Cultivate an Unstoppable Faith
The Christian journey is founded on faith and lived in faith.
There’s this thing in my life that I continue to pray over, wait on, and hope for. And it’s kind of a big deal. Something to give God glory in and for.
Meanwhile, I often teeter between excitement and feeling a bit overwhelmed.
So, I sometimes smile in anticipation. Or, I jump up and down on the inside when I imagine the possibility of it happening.
Then, only moments later, a knot forms in the pit of my stomach wondering what if never happens?
This thing required I take a leap of faith. And I’m learning these leaps should be the “norm” for believers. But we often hesitate about stepping into the unknown. Still, Hebrews 11:1 defines it exactly that way:
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (NIV)
Faith is not a receive-it-all-at-once deal. Because the confidence in what we hope for and the assurance about what we do not see, grows and strengthens while we live out our Christian lives on this earth.
God uses our circumstances today, whatever tomorrow brings, the things we pray over, wait on, and hope for, to cultivate a mature #faith in us. #FaithInGod Share on XHere are 5 ways to cultivate an unstoppable F-A-I-T-H:
F – Find God faithful.
We come to God in faith, believing He is Creator and Lord, and accepting His salvation by faith through Jesus Christ. This faith continues in our life as we find God faithful and learn He always fulfills His promises.
Hebrews 11, often called the Hall of Faith, showcases the men and women who not only found God faithful, but who also acted on the Lord’s promises even though they died before receiving many of the things promised.
Faith is the firm ground where we stand waiting on the Lord to fulfill His promises. #FaithInGod #faith Share on XA – Acknowledge who God is.
“Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God whose ways you may not understand at the time.” — Oswald Chambers
We must trust Who God is…the sum total of His attributes. Yet, sometimes we only concentrate on the feel-good parts of God’s character. Such as God is love, merciful, and good.
And all those characteristics are absolutely true about God. But He is also holy, just, the one true judge, in control, on His throne, the only God, and sovereign—reigns over all things. Every one of these aspects are what make God, God.
We deny God’s full Lordship when we only celebrate one aspect of His character.
I – Imitate Jesus.
When we look at the life and ministry of Jesus, we see faith in how He obeyed and glorified the heavenly Father, performed miracles, surrendered to God’s plan, and spoke of God’s laws and commands. Also, He ministered to people’s needs in the middle of their ordinary days.
Obtaining great faith on the Christian journey is not spiritual extra credit. Instead, it’s the process of how we mature as a believer in the middle of ordinary days, in all our todays and tomorrows.
“Faith sees the invisible, believes the unbelievable, and receives the impossible.” — Corrie ten boom
T – Trust without hesitation.
Our job as a Christ-follower is to trust God’s power, ways, and purposes. And God’s job is everything else. He does the heavy-lifting.
Our #faith is unstoppable when we trust in an unstoppable God who does bigger and better things than anyone or any god. God wants us to trust Him with every detail of our life. #FaithInGod Share on XThe thing I mentioned in the introduction? God continues to remind me that His timing really is perfect; His plans for me are always for my good and His glory.
Those things we continue to wait on and hope for all have a purpose to increase our faith, not decrease it.
Even hardships that test our faith lead to steadfastness (James 1:2-4). Enduring these trials is what God uses to pull us closer to himself and grow our trust.
H – Hold on to truth.
Nothing anchors our faith more than a God who is trustworthy and true to His Word.
Sometimes our own thoughts, the enemy, or other people trick our heart into thinking God is holding out on us.
Maybe a prayer went unanswered in how we wanted the situation to turn out. Perhaps we feel God didn’t come through for us in what we wished for or wanted to happen.
Our circumstances should never dictate our faith, but grow our faith. In everything, we hold firmly on to God’s truth.
Because God is trustworthy, we can trust Him with our todays and all our tomorrows.
Unstoppable Faith
- F – Find God faithful.
- A – Acknowledge who God is.
- I – Imitate Jesus.
- T – Trust without Hesitation.
- H – Hold on to truth.
Which part of unstoppable F-A-I-T-H stood out to you?
*Sometimes I participate in these link-ups:
Legacy Linkup/Inspire Me Monday/Kingdom Bloggers/Literacy Musings/Tell His Story/Purposeful Faith/Abounding Grace/Tea and the Word/Welcome Heart/Recharge Wednesday/Porch Stories/Destination Inspiration/Worth Beyond Rubies/Tune in Thursday/Sitting Among Friends/Heart Encouragement/Embracing the Unexpected/Fresh Market Friday/Faith On Fire/Dance With Jesus and Faith and Friends.
© 2019 by Karen Friday, All rights reserved
H – Hold onto truth. God is true to his word and because of this, we can trust him no matter what.
I really celebrate that point too, Yvonne. Nothing anchors our faith more than a God who is trustworthy and true to His Word. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Trust without hesitation and hold on to the truth were two of my favorites here, Karen. Praying that in all circumstances, God is growing my faith in Him and all that He is.
Blessings!
Yes, both those points bring me comfort and move me to action knowing the outcome is increased faith in my heart. Our job as a Christ-follower is to trust God’s power, ways, and purposes. And God’s job is everything else. He does the heavy-lifting. Always appreciate your thoughts, Martha.
Holding onto God’s truths is what anchors my soul and my faith Ms. Karen. Enjoyed the post immensely ma’am. Thank you for your willingness to always share your heart for the Lord ma’am.
Appreciate you, J.D. Because God is trustworthy, we can trust Him with our todays and all our tomorrows. Keep holding on to that truth, brother. May it increase your faith!
This is wonderful! I find something special in each thought. I am holding on to Him and His truth today and every day.
Thank you, Melissa. The full f-a-i-t-h list really does cultivate our unstoppable faith in an unstoppable God. Thanks for sharing!
Acknowledge stood out to me, Karen. I woke up this morning feeling a little anxious and pressed in from all sides. As I sat with the Lord, the reason became apparent. This “pushed” feeling came from me — my desires. I realized I wasn’t acknowledging or honoring His omniscience in my life, and in the lives of those I love. Thank you for this post!
Cathy, after I read your comment, I was out for the rest of the day. But although I’m just now responding, I prayed over you several times. Because I really relate to feeling anxious and to not acknowledging who God “completely” is. It’s easy to get caught up in what feels good about God’s character, and it’s okay to celebrate those attributes as long as we aren’t leaving out the others. In the end, I desire to have faith in the Lord’s goodness and love for me, AND in His sovereignty. Appreciate your comment.
I love this so much!! I scheduled some tweets to go out from this post! I think everyone should read this! Going to share on FB as well. And I LOVE that quote from Oswald Chambers. Thank you so much for sharing this! Please share this on my link up because I want people to read this!!
Awe, thanks for your kindness and encouragement, Diane. And for sharing on social media. Yes, the Oswald Chambers quote about faith even when we don’t understand God’s ways at the time is such a powerful thought. And the Lord told us in His Word, His ways and thoughts are higher than ours. (Isaiah 55:9) Unstoppable faith is that deep down trust and surrender to the Lord’s ways over our own.
Love this post, Karen! I’m going to feature it in my “favorite post of the week” next week on my blog! Thanks for reminding us of who God is and how we can better trust Him!
Hey Beth. Thanks for your sweet words and for featuring this post. I’m so honored. “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1, NIV) Lord, help us trust who you are and trust you no matter what.
To answer your question – “hold onto the truth.” Years ago someone taught me to “preach to my own heart what I know to be true about God” whenever I would doubt Him or wonder why something has happened. What a great lesson that has turned out to be!
Good post!
I like that thought, Beth. Those are great words of wisdom. Clinging to truth when it would be so much easier to believe lies about our situation and about the Lord, makes all the difference in the world in whether our faith is unstoppable or stops. Thanks for adding your thoughts and experience.
I love that acronym, FAITH!
F – Find God faithful.
A – Acknowledge who God is.
I – Imitate Jesus.
T – Trust without Hesitation.
H – Hold on to truth.
For me, imitating Jesus has been key. He’s my model for all of this. Great blog, Karen!
Thank you, Jessica. Since working on and writing this article, I’ve prayed that full acronym of FAITH over myself. And I plan to continue to pray it daily. We can never go wrong imitating Jesus. He stands as our top example on EVERYthing about the Christian live and living out our faith.
I love this post. Trusting can be hard and holding onto truth takes real effort–as does imitating Jesus.
But you simplify it so it’s clear to us all. Great job, Karen! God bless!
Glad this encouraged you, Nancy. It really does take real effort to place our full and complete faith in a God who is faithful and trustworthy in every way. Thanks for your comment.
T – Trust without hesitation. This stands out to me! “Our job as a Christ-follower is to trust God’s power, ways, and purposes. And God’s job is everything else. He does the heavy-lifting.”
I find little glimpses into my heart when I pray. I find myself detailing to God how I’d like him to answer a specific prayer – say for someone’s salvation and how the whole process should go. “Lord, can you let this happen in their life, because it would be so powerful to . . . ”
When I listen to myself, I’m appalled that I think I can dictate this to the Lord. He’s the one who does the heavy lifting. He’s the sovereign Lord of the universe. He KNOWS how it should go. My prayers are turning gradually into “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” when I bring my requests, wrenching a dictation of the how-tos out of my prayers entirely. Whenever I catch myself doing it, I have a laugh with the Lord over the fact that I still have this evidence of lack of trust hanging on with its fearful grip. Such is growth! Thankfully, God is patient and tender.
Oh, Melinda, I so relate to those prayers. I have often presented God with MY plan A and even a “B” plan, as though He needs any help doing His job in the universe or my life. 🙂 One thought I try to remember about our God is how He is CEO of the world AND my life, but am I in His seat?
So, yes, the Lord’s prayer from Matthew 6 helps me stay in line with Who God is and who I am when I pray, Lord, help me to desire your kingdom over my kingdom (because mine often crumbles anyway), and help me want your will over my agenda.
Thanks for your wonderful thoughts!
What a great way to remember God’s FAITH-fulness in our lives, and to challenge us to be more FAITH-filled! I love that you helped me feel like faith is accessible to me right now!
I like how you said faith is accessible to us right now! That’s a good word, Rebecca, because it’s true! Lord, fill us with authentic faith and grow us in faith every day!
I have found that the most faithful and inspirational people in my life are women. I was close to suicide when my son was tried and sent to prison for murder. My faith was on the brink. But women of faith brought me back – Gita, Lisa and Rene all made sure I knew I was important to God and had something more to give back to Him and to others.
Now I too believe that a mature faith understands suffering, believes in a loving God despite suffering and am ready to receive more blessings as I pray to a God who is always good, even when I’m not.
Wow, Jamie! What a powerful testimony of your faith being tested from the hardships that come from living in a fallen world. I’m so sorry to hear about your son, but thankful strong women of faith helped you see your worth and purpose in a faithful God who ALWAYS fulfills His prommises. A mature faith DOES understand suffering and holds fast to God’s truth in the midst of trials, whom in the end, come out more steadfast than before. “For you know the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” James 1:3-4 ESV.
Thanks for sharing your story and experience. I’m blessed to have read your words and know your heart.
Oh Karen, I love this post! Part of my daily prayer is for God to increase my childlike faith. In several cases Jesus responded, “Your faith has made you well.” I know the faith was in God’s power, not in the person’s belief in random circumstances. May faith in our Mighty God grow and grow, that He may accomplish His great will through us.
This section was so powerful: “Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God whose ways you may not understand at the time.” — Oswald Chambers We must trust Who God is…the sum total of His attributes. Yet, sometimes we only concentrate on the feel-good parts of God’s character. Such as God is love, merciful, and good. And all those characteristics are absolutely true about God. But He is also holy, just, the one true judge, in control, on His throne, the only God, and sovereign—reigns over all things. Every one of these aspects are what make God, God. We deny God’s full Lordship when we only celebrate one aspect of His character.”
There is much in our lives that we do not fully understand, but we can trust who God is, remember His character and remember we cannot see all things. May we rest ourselves in the One who does. God bless you, sister!
Melissa, I agree, it’s faith in God’s power and ability that make us well. And sometimes that wellness is in one or all of the three aspects of how God created us: body, soul, and spirit. When I remember that God always sees the big picture and knows all the details of our lives and circumstances, then it’s easier to fully trust in Him, without hestiation, and rest in the assurance He is God and I am not. I love that Oswald Chambers quote for that reason. I praise and worship and communicate and grow in a God who is the sum total of everything that make Him God…all His attributes evenly appreciated and trusted in.
Thanks for your wonderful comment!
I really enjoyed this post. It all is so true. Recently, I was hoping for something to happen that didn’t. Although, this is disappointing, I know God has a plan. I have faith that these open doors will lead me right where He wants me to be. Although I am disappointed, I’m not discouraged. At the end of the day, God knows what’s best!
Thank you, Holly. Love how you said, “Although I am disappointed, I’m not discouraged…Gpd knows what’s best.” Yes, that’s the key to unstoppable faith in an unstoppable God…trusting His sovereignty and plans and providence. And trusting how great His love is for us, that He will today or one day or behind the scenes work all things toward our good. Let God continue to remind you that His timing really is perfect; His plans for you are always for your good and His glory.
Karen, Wonderful as always. Such an encouragement to wholly surrender and put all our trust in our good God. Thank you!
Pam, thank you. Nothing anchors our faith more than a God who is trustworthy and true to His Word; A God who wants only our good and total surrender to His perfect ways.
Great post. We also like Forsaking All I Take Him. Both work but the key is that we need to live faith not just talk about it. This is where we find the disconnect with many believers. Steps of faith are just that, steps. As we listen to Him He beckons us to follow. Each step of obedience is victory and life to us. The problem is that God will lead us waaay beyond comfort and into the strange world of discomfort as we follow Him
He has good reason to do so. Our greatest enemy is our ‘self’ nature which loooooves comfort and to be coddled. God want’s to kill that evil beast in us so we can be truly free to be who He made us to be. We start the journey of conquering the beast of ‘self’ by those tiny steps of faith. We will keep walking with God until He starts confronting the ‘self’ within. At that point you have to make a decision as to whether Jesus or ‘self’ is worth pursuing. 95% of believers will stop when it gets uncomfortable. 5% will continue, eventually giving up all to follow Him and become a disciple. The journey isn’t easy by any stretch but certainly every sacrifice we make pales in comparison with the reward of intimacy with Jesus.
So the only question is, will you be part of the 5%?
Yes, yes, yes! Living out our faith in the real world and in our world in front of others. Moving out of comfort zones is often the greatest blessing on the Christian journey. We just never realize it at the time. Good question. Our faith will never mature or grow to the unstoppable kind if we hold back complete surrender and stepping into the unknown PAST our comfort zones. Thanks for your great thoughts on faith.
This is a wonderful outline of faith, Karen. I like your discussion on trusting God in “the sum total of His attributes.” It’s so easy to spend time in celebration of the favorable aspects of God, but, as you said, “He is also holy, just, the one true judge, in control, on His throne, the only God, and sovereign—reigns over all things. Every one of these aspects are what make God, God.” I appreciate this perspective because, in a month or 2, I plan to write about the idea of spending more time celebrating our salvation and freedom and less about serving Him and sacrificing for Him. In fact, I may want to quote you and link to this post, if you don’t mind. I also like this: “Our circumstances should never dictate our faith, but grow our faith. In everything, we hold firmly on to God’s truth.” Our hearts are not always in tune with God’s plan and are deceitful. Seeking God’s truth and will is such a necessary aspect of faith. Thank you for this challenge.
Hey Stephen, I’d be honored to have you quote something here and/or link to the post. And I agree, seeking God and His truth are so important for our complete and full faith. Part of that is remembering who God is…His full Lordship. Thanks for your comment. Praying as you write your message, the Holy Spirit anoints your words and you partner with God in what needs to be conveyed. 🙂
What a wonderful acronym for remembering these five truths. I often get impatient with God’s timing, so the last one, holding on to God’s truth, really made me think. If I’m holding on to his truth, I don’t need to get my knickers in a knot over his timing. Thank you for reminding me!
Haha, Anita, no, there’s not a reason to get our knickers in a knot. When we know God’s in control and operates out of truth, waiting on His timing, increases our faith, not decreases it.
Powerful and memorable acronym, Karen! Thanks for putting the time into this inspiring post.
Thank you, Michele. The Lord is teaching me that if everything always went off without a hitch, we would not only have no need for Him, but we would also have no reason to exercise our faith…for Him to grow our faith.
“T – Trust without hesitation” stands out to me the most. It is something we must decide upfront and then be unwavering in it. We can’t base it on how we feel. Thank you for sharing with Grace & Truth. I love talking about faith. Great article!
Blessings, Maree
Yes, Maree, trusting upfront and not wavering. If we can just get through our heads that God is trustworthy, we would stand unwavered in our belief in Who He is and what He does. We would not hesitate one bit! Thanks for commenting!
I love this! Such a helpful acronym. Imitating Jesus is key for me.
I like imitating Jesus too, Jennifer. We never go wrong imitating Jesus. He stands as our top example on EVERYthing about the Christian life, an intimate relationship with the Father, and living out our faith.
Yes! Yes! Yes!
Thank you, Lauren! “Faith sees the invisible, believes the unbelievable, and receives the impossible.” — Corrie ten boom
I love ALL of the acronyms! But in the season I’m in, I’m needing to hold on to His truth with bulldog tenacity. ❤
Hey Donna, I love this, “hold on to His truth with bulldog tenacity.” Me too, friend! Thanks for stopping by.
I love this Karen- so simple! I have to review my faith repeatedly in the hard times so this is a great tool for that.
Thanks, Danell. Yes, I’m sure we all should “review” our faith so there’s no stopping point and no time we become complacent or stagnant.
Hey, girl! Glad to see you made it to the Legacy Linkup this month. I love this post about holding on the faith. Too many women are losing hope because they are looking around the world too much.
Thanks for linking up!
Glad to be connected with you all on the blog and link-up. I subscribed as well. I pray we don’t lose hope by looking to the things of this world to do for us what only God and our faith accomplishes.
Love this, Karen. You are a gem for continually turning our eyes back toward the One who will lead us victoriously without fail. Love the tweets, too. 🙂
Appreciate your kind encouragement, Kristi. May we keep looking up to the One who won the victory so our faith is victorious!
I found this helpful! “Trust without hesitation” was emphasized for me recently. My husband and I were robbed and shot last month (in a generally calm area, where nothing like this had happened in years). My faith gave me great strength throughout most of the ordeal. We were still quite shaken and decided to move, but our faith and our strength as a couple has helped us endure.
Oh my, Robin. How troubling and such a horrific ordeal to go through. I’m learning that if life was always going along wonderful with no glitches and no troubles, we wouldn’t need God or faith. But we can look back and see how we are much farther along the faith journey with stronger and more mature faith after coming out on the other side of trials. So sorry this has happened and pray the Lord continues to heal you both physically and emotionally!
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I love the acronym for faith. I find that trusting God without hesitation trips me up at times. It is the “without hesitation” part. Thank goodness for grace and God’s new mercies every morning.
Hey Mary, oh, I’m with you on the “without hesitation” part. It’s not easy, but hard. I’ve always reflected on those Bible stories when someone obeyed the Lord…immediately. Perhaps, we can build our faith to a point where trusting God becomes more immediate too.
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