"Do you have faith?
Have it to yourself before God."
Romans 14:22
A man said to a pastor, "I wish that I could have faith in Christ. Maybe it's because I don't know how. I've heard about faith most of my life, but nobody seems to get around to telling us how." The pastor thanked him for raising the subject. He said, "The Bible not only tells us to have faith in Christ, but it tells us how we receive that faith." The pastor shared several passages from the Bible with him. Not that day, but about two months later, that man called the pastor to say, "Thanks for what you taught me about faith. I didn't find the faith, but faith found me."
How do we receive the faith to trust God and His Son Jesus Christ? First, understand that faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 13:13; Philippians 1:29). Also, faith comes to us through the word of God. "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17). Most importantly, Jesus is both the subject and source of our faith. "Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2).
"Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God." Our faith comes from God. It's source is God's Son. It comes through God's word. It is given by God's Spirit. Unbelief says, "I cause people to reject God and His Son." Doubt says, "I keep people confused about God and His Son." Faith says, "I'm a gift of God's Spirit to bond people to God and His Son."
Father, thank You for the gift of faith in our hearts.
