Faith Just Enough to Live

Life is much like how a shark moves. Sharks must keep swimming. In staying spiritually alive, we also must keep moving in the direction of progress. And progress is keeping to the path that God has set for our lives, remembering that there are possibly many right paths we might keep to.

But, we are apt to forget—and this is important—progress doesn’t always mean advancement or enhancement. Progress can mean simply keeping up. Progress can also mean recognising we have lagged behind.

Progress is simply seeing God’s will and responding.

For anyone who is on the road to burn out, who is contemplating how they will get through the day or the week or the month or the year, their request of God is faith just enough to live. These don’t require much from the Lord, just a gentle strength to keep responding well a moment at a time.

There is a prize to such faith; to simply keep going on our God-decreed passage.

The Multiplicity of Growth In Mustard-Seed Faith

Perhaps the most encouraging knowledge we can have about faith is that only a little as required; only enough to keep us going; only enough to get us through; and what is sufficient in God’s grace is always enough.

As we venture forth succeeding in our moments, as we bear them patiently, resisting the flexion of our frustration, we are winning the moment.

Winning the moment is not all there is, though it’s the most important thing for our spiritual sanity. Winning the moment is only part of the story. Adding to the power of winning the moment is the idea of reflecting in the present moment.

This is about reminding ourselves of our faithfulness in trusting God.

God wants us encouraged. God wants us to know when he is pleased with us.

We never get a big head from recognising such truths, because we are recognising God’s provision in getting from A to B, then from C to D, etc.

When we notice our resilience, we notice also the faithfulness of God, and it helps us continue; to endure. As we endure, our mustard-seed faith grows and matures.

This is why it’s so important to be encouraged by other people, because they validate what we may already know. Recognition is encouragement.

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Life is tough enough that faith is required just to live. None of us are immune to problems, just as none of us are saved from them. We don’t need huge portions of faith; just enough to do is all that is required. When faith is kept simple it is at its most powerful. By faith in God we connect our problems with the strength to endure them.

© 2013 S. J. Wickham.