We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly. 2 Thessalonians 1:3
It is a wonderful thing to have faith in Christ, and if you are a Christian, then you do, in fact, have faith in Jesus Christ. But what is happening to your faith?
When the apostle Paul wrote to the church in Thessalonica, he said, “Your faith is growing.” This seems to indicate that there are degrees of faith. What does the rest of the Bible say?
On one occasion, Jesus said to Peter, “O you of little faith” (Matt. 14:31), and He said to a centurion, “With no one in Israel have I found such faith” (Matt. 8:10). The disciples even said to Jesus, “Increase our faith!” (Luke 17:5).
Another time, when the disciples were in a storm, they panicked, and Jesus said to them, “Where is your faith?” (Luke 8:25). Now He wasn’t saying, “You don’t have any faith.” Clearly, they had faith—they were His followers. What Jesus was saying to them was, “Why aren’t you using your faith?”
You might be wondering: What exactly is faith? Quite simply, faith is confidence in the ultimate triumph of God. This is what you need when you’re struggling with difficult relationships, stubborn sins, discouragement in ministry, or the hostility of an unbelieving world.
So, what about you? Are you exercising the faith that you have? Are you applying your faith to the particular battles that you’re facing in life?
