How to grow your faith
Anna Collins
Watching your child grow is amazing. The differences seem minimal day to day. But after a year or two, we can look back and see how much they’ve changed physically and developmentally.
No one expects a child to grow in one day, yet sometimes we have those expectations in our walk with Jesus. When we meet Jesus, we are made new and we want instant results. But like a child getting bigger, spiritual growth happens over time.
Jesus will make you into the person He wants you to be one step at a time.
In Mark 4:26-29, Jesus compares spiritual growth to the way a plant grows:
“...a man scatters seed on the ground. Whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain-first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it because the harvest has come.”
In this one parable, Jesus teaches us three important things about growing in faith.
3 Ways To Grow Your Faith According To Jesus
1. Give all you’ve got to God’s Word.
Jesus compared God’s Word to a seed. A seed does not start to grow until it is planted. When you asked Jesus into your heart, you planted the seed. Every time we open the Bible and dive into God’s Word the seed is fertilized. Find a time of day that works and immerse yourself in God’s Word.
2. Consistency and commitment will turn into a crop worth harvesting.
The farmer rose day and night. It takes time for a seed to poke through the ground, but just because you can’t see the seed, doesn’t mean it’s not growing. The Word of God changes and grows us without us even knowing it. So approach the Bible each day with patience and expectation. When you don’t understand something, just keep reading or ask a friend. But don’t give up! God is changing you one day at a time.
3. Don’t try to change yourself.
Does the seed try and change by itself? No, and we can’t change by ourselves either. Just like a seed growing, God will change us without us even knowing it!
As Christians, we should be concerned with our spiritual growth, but don’t get discouraged if you don’t grow overnight. Proverbs 13:4 says, “The appetite of the lazy craves and gets nothing, while the appetite of the diligent is richly supplied.” Be diligent. Listen to God, do what He says, and trust that He is growing you. He will make you into the person He wants you to be one step at a time.