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“God has dealt to each one a measure of faith” (Romans 12:3, NKJV).
Faith isn’t reserved for deeply spiritual people. If it was, we’d all be in trouble! The fact – regular people from all walks of life can be faith filled. We can think faith belongs exclusively to people like Abraham, Moses, Elijah, David, Peter and Paul.
Now, without question, they were all faith heroes, but faith doesn’t belong solely to them. The Bible tells us, “God has dealt to each one a measure of faith” (Romans 12:3 NKJV).
No one will miss out on Heaven because he or she wasn’t given enough faith to “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved” (see Acts 16:31).
God intended that not only should we have faith but that we should live by faith. Three times the New Testament assures us “the just shall live by faith (Hebrews 10:38, NKJV).
You reply, “Yes, but those biblical heroes had great faith; my faith is so small!” Did you know that the apostles felt the same way? They said to Jesus, “Increase our faith” (Luke 17:5 NIV)!
And Jesus replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea,” and it will obey you”. (Luke 17:6 NIV).
Like so many of us, the apostles thought they needed more faith. But Jesus corrected this spiritually crippling misperception by telling them you don’t need a lorry load of faith to see amazing outcomes. “Faith as small as a mustard seed” can bring about awesome results.
When you put the faith you’ve been given into action, it will produce results! However, we need to understand that “Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead” (James 2:17, NIV).
James asks, “What good is it…if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds…Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says…“Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing…what good is it?
In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds’ (James 2:14-18 NIV).
A veritable ocean of faith without the appropriate action to follow it up is nothing more than an ocean of dead, useless faith. On the other hand, an ounce of faith that’s acted upon can produce an ocean of results (see Matthew 13:31-32). Action breathes life and power into your faith.
The biblical prescription for faith is simple but potent. (1) You decide to believe in God’s promise and his power to make it happen – leaving the ‘how and when’ up to him. (2) You choose to act in keeping with what you believe before you see any evidence of the results. (3) God responds to your faith by keeping his unbreakable promise.
“Has he said, and will he not do? Or has he spoken, and will he not make it good” (Numbers 23:19, NKJV)? God goes to work exercising his unlimited capacity to perform his word. Jesus said, “Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mark 11:24, NIV).
It’s up to you to claim, believe and act on God’s promises.
By Alfred Nyamekye
