By Doug Creamer
What is Faith?
How can it be June already? I have so much I still want to do outside before it becomes too hot to get it done. Most of my garden is planted. A local farmer is advertising that he will have corn this weekend and mine just got planted. I need to replant my beans for a third time, not because of the rabbits that love to eat them, but because the seeds did not germinate. I am also hoping to put out some sweet potatoes.
Gardening has a lot to do with faith. We put things out in the ground with faith that we will get a harvest from our labors. The reality is, things happen. One year we got so much rain that my potatoes rotted. We fight pests that require us to spray pesticides. Then we have the rabbits, and this year we have quite a few. The squirrels beat me to my corn the last couple of years. Then the deer have learned to jump my fences so they can enjoy my vegetables, too. If I can outwit all these challenges, I might get a harvest.
That is where faith comes into the equation. Gardeners have faith that our work will give us the harvest we are working to achieve. Faith is believing and trusting that God will reward your hard work. Here is the part that some people forget. I can’t just plant seeds; I have to do many other things if I want to see the harvest. I have to water my seeds. I have to weed the garden. I also have to do the work of preventing all the above named pests from getting my harvest. Even then things like weather conditions can ruin a harvest. It requires faith!
If gardening requires all that faith and hard work to achieve any level of success, then why do we believe that our spiritual journey will be an easy one? The idea that I can walk the aisle and ask Jesus into my life and then expect I will live on easy street is crazy. It requires faith to ask Jesus into our lives, but if we believe the hard work is over we are sadly mistaken. We have to work to protect this seed of a new life in Jesus so it can grow and produce a harvest for His kingdom.
The enemy is like a squirrel which will come and dig the seeds up and eat them before they can germinate. If the squirrels miss out, then when the first leaves of our faith emerge the rabbits will be waiting to eat them and keep us from growing. If we keep them out, the weeds of distraction will grow up and choke our seeds. If we get past that we have to watch out for the deer of doubt, fear, and worry that will try and steal our harvest from us. Yes, spiritual gardening requires faith and hard work.
If we can manage to defeat all the critters that want to steal our harvest, we still have to do the hard work of growing roots. Our roots will grow as we read God’s word. Here is the important part about reading the Bible: we have to do more than just read it. We have to add faith and then apply it to our lives. Some people can quote the Bible but they have never applied any of it to their lives. Knowledge without faith and application will not produce a spiritual harvest. Faith in God’s word requires application.
Another important part of growing faith is having a conversation with God. Some people believe that prayer is talking at God. Prayer is a two-way conversation. We need to listen for God’s voice in our lives. He can speak to us through the Bible, but He also wants to speak to us in our spirit. He will nudge you, guide you, and give you thoughts. Naturally, we need to carefully weigh what we hear and make sure it lines up with God’s word. Hearing from God requires faith!
I want to encourage you to grow your faith. Growing faith requires hard work. It requires daily maintenance. The enemy wants to distract you, separate you from other believers, and keep you in a state of doubt, fear, and discouragement. God is with us. He is fighting for us. He wants to see us grow a strong faith that will endure the many tests we must face in our spiritual journey. Having faith is not easy, but the reward is great because we will get to spend eternity with Him in heaven.
Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com
