Losing My Faith - Part III

What Are Areas of Faith?

March 8, 2007

We have examined the issue of eternal security and the degrees of faith. Today we will look at the areas of faith. I use the following term “multifaceted faith” when referring to these areas. Multifaceted faith simply means that we have degrees of faith in many different areas of our life.

This is true of our trusting in worldly things to function. This trust is a level of expectation. When I turn on the light in my kitchen I expect it to illuminate the room. The frequency of failure is rare and therefore I believe the switch will work every time. I don’t have the same success with my computer. There are times my computer acts as if it has a mind all its own. I don’t have the same level of faith in my computer to perform its functions as I have in my kitchen light to perform its. Don’t miss this next part. I cannot transfer my trust in the light over to the computer. Because I trust the light will function does not ensure the computer will function better. They both require electricity, but have different functions and purposes.

In our Christian walk with Christ we may have great faith in one area, little faith in another and no faith in another. This doesn’t mean that I am not saved. I have great faith in Christ for my salvation. This faith in Christ for salvation does not automatically transfer to the other areas in my life. Just like the computer and light require electricity the various areas in my life that require faith require Jesus, but the function and purpose of those areas vary one from the other. The failure is never Jesus, but in our trust of Him on our part. When that trust is weak we can expect less activity in us and through us regarding that area. The example of Jesus in His hometown where there was little faith and He could do only a few miracles illustrates this for us today.

It is our faith that stops short of the blessing God intended for us if we but stayed the course.

What are some of the areas?

I chose six to look at. There are more.

I need to preface this section with the following understanding. There are three factors to successfully experiencing God’s hand in the following areas. Faith, obedience and God’s will. If you are not obeying God even if you trust in Him do not expect Him to bless you. If God’s will is set on a subject you cannot change it. You can trust that God knows what is best for you.

1. Salvation:

This area is critical to all the others. For without salvation you cannot have faith in the other areas. Faith starts at salvation. This one is unique. There are no degrees. You are either saved or not. The reason for this is that in salvation you are either born again or not. You are either a new creation or not. There is no middle ground.

2. Protection

This relates to you trusting Jesus in the time of trouble. The protection can be a simple as walking down the street to going to Iraq and fighting as a soldier. You may have no faith and are afraid of almost everything, or little faith that enables you to do the only basics in life, or great faith that enables you to go to war trusting Jesus or travel to third world country as a missionary. The depth of your faith will determine how free you are to act when Jesus calls.

3. Provision

This relates to trusting Jesus to meet your needs. These needs can be broken down into subcategories. We have needs in the area of housing, food, bills, and autos to mention a few. Our degree of faith will determine how we respond to situations in our life. Situations like the loss of a job, your house burning down, or a car being stolen. All of these things are temporal and replaceable. The depth of your faith will determine how you respond in the midst of the trial.

4. Relationships/Marriage

This relates to trusting God to guide you to the right mate or circle of friends. Often people tire of waiting on God and jump regarding a spouse. Then they are saddle with the outcome of the decision they made. We can trust God to bring godly people into our lives. This may seem like a stretch. You may ask “Why should I have faith for friends?” Because when we do not involve God we accept less than what He has for us. How many people have you known chosen the wrong crowd to run with? How many lives have been damaged or destroyed by choosing the wrong circle of friends? Trusting God in this area is just as important as trusting Him in the others.

5. Healing

This relates to health and not just healing once health is failing. I will not go into depth today on this subject. It is a complex subject and one that causes pause and concern for many, especially if they have lost a godly loved one.

I will address it this way today and save a more expanded teaching for another day. I can assure you that if you have no faith for healing you will have no expectation of being healed. God can in His great love and mercy heal despite one’s lack of faith. The same principle applies to the one whose faith is little. That person will have little expectation of being healed. The one of great faith has expectations of being healed. The faith is in place, but that alone will not assure the healing. There are two other factors which include obedience and God’s will.

Direction

This relates to walking in God’s will today trusting Him to unfold His plan for your life day by day. He rarely reveals the distant future to us. Our lives are in the here and now. Living for Him now is the key. If you submit to Him today the result will be a tomorrow that God is ready for you to go through with His help and guidance.

Summary:

We have seen that there are many areas where faith is required in order for us to operate fully for God. For each of us our strengths and weakness vary. You may have great faith for protection and weak faith for provision. The key is that we must be seeking to grow in the areas we are weak while not neglecting our areas of strength. We need to be walking in obedience to God and trusting His will for today. Examine your life and see where you need to work on expanding your faith. Then embrace God to help you grow as you study His Word and walk with Him.

A humble person recognizes that there is work yet to be done in them. The arrogant person believes they have arrived.

Lord Bless,

Leonard Traina