1 Thessalonians 1:8
“For not only did the message of the Lord ring out from you to Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone out to every place, so that we have no need to say anything further.”
We will focus on where faith comes from. It’s an interesting question. Is it generated in us? Does it come from God? Is it a mix of percentages?
Romans 10:17 makes it clear that it comes from God. “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Matthew 13 contains the parable of the sower. The seed is the Word of God. When people hear it, growth occurs in the heart. This is faith. Our hearts are the soil to God’s Word. The Word flourishes when planted.
Here’s an example of how it works. 1 Peter 5:7 says, “Cast your cares upon Him for He cares for you.” This gives hope to the readers. They begin to follow through. They are encouraged to pray. The Word has taken root and has begun to grow. That’s how the process works.
Do we have any part? Yes. We are to keep the momentum going. We are to water and tend to the faith that God has given us. We receive the hope that God cares. We are to cast those onto Him. Some stop there. They felt the hope, but don’t proceed. They may realize by going God’s way, it will involve obedience to Him. Some may fear what their friends may say about their new faith and stop.
Even though we’ve responded to God’s implanting, we will need to tend to it. Weeds will grow and attempt to choke off the Word of Hope. A few days after “casting our cares upon Him”, we may receive a new batch of worries. We begin to doubt. We need to let our faith take over. We also need to go back to the bible and get encouraged. Time with God is watering the seed of faith as well as getting more seeds planted. It’s also weeding out the doubts. Sometimes God will give us a fresh infusion of His Word. Other times it’s reaffirms what was spoken.
So, faith comes from God and His Word. It’s up to us to read the bible, pray and go to church to hear the messages. It’s also up to us to respond to the hope and faith in our hearts. It’s responding to that momentum He gives us.
Lord, thanks for the faith You give us. Help us to keep coming back to You and responding to what You give.