Keeping the Faith

Question: My family and most of the other people I’m around every day aren’t interested in spiritual matters. How can I “keep the faith” in what seems to be an increasingly skeptical world?

Answer: Faith is atthe core of our spiritual lives, so it’s worth fighting for. Here are a few tips that can help yours not only survive, but thrive:

Feed on the Word of God. Faith is built by faithful study of God’s Word. As you read and absorb it daily, as you think about its truths and how they apply to you, your faith will grow. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” Jesus promises, “If you abide in My Word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

Pray and meditate. God wants to have a personal relationship with you through His Son, Jesus. “There is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.” Communing in spirit with Jesus—sharing your heart with Him and receiving His love, encouragement, and answers in return—will strengthen your connection and deepen your relationship.

Live your faith. “Faith without works is dead,” but conversely, putting faith into action brings it to life. As you apply God’s Word to daily living, its principles and promises will ring true time after time, and your faith in it and its Author will grow.

Look for the good. Nothing can put a damper on faith like adverse circumstances, but the Bible promises, “All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Learn to find and focus on that good, and your faith will be buoyant enough to survive anything.

Draw from the experience of others. Reading accounts of what God has done for others will increase your faith. What God has done for them, He can do for you!

Thank God for the good. Praising God for His goodness propels us into His presence. “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.” The more you thank God for His goodness, the more you’ll find to be thankful for and the more He will bless you. It’s an upward spiral that makes God and the spiritual realm more real to you; it strengthens your faith.

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James 2:26 (ESV) For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

Romans 8:28 (ESV) And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Psalm 100:4 (ESV) Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!