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Use It OR Lose It
Sunday, January 17, 2021 at 10:26AM 
“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen…And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for He who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (Hebrews 11:1,6).
Stamina doesn’t just “happen.” Rather, it’s a commodity that’s acquired the old-fashioned way – we earn it! To grow in stamina – let’s say, by running a sub-8:00 minute mile—we have to invest MORE training time.
Having acquired our goal level of stamina, the next challenge is maintaining that peak level; and that requires considerable time and effort, too. Inevitably, stamina fades when training fades. “Use it or lose it,” we say.
Faith – believing in the living God of the Bible – is that way, too. It doesn’t just fall from heaven into our lives, as if we’re simply passive recipients. Hardly. As the Hebrew text teaches, faith results from specific turning points in our belief system…assurance and conviction. Assurance results from reviewing pertinent facts, leading to a growing confidence. A conviction at the end of a trial results from all evidence being reviewed, and a guilty/not guilty conclusion drawn.
We exercise faith; and the more we exercise by trusting, the stronger our faith grows. As physical stamina grows from consistent daily workouts, so does our faith in God. We trust Him with consistent, little steps at a time. The Apostle Paul writes of this training effort in 1 Timothy 4:6-8.
Critical to the strength of our faith is the OBJECT of our faith. In the case of the Christian faith, the object of our faith is the Lord Jesus Christ. Speaking of trusting Him, the writer of Hebrews says, “he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”
Since faith is strengthened when we use it, don’t be surprised when God allows circumstances to develop that are beyond our control! That’s why the Scripture says, “without faith it is impossible to please Him.” If we want to please Him, we must respond to Him in faith – trusting Him where we cannot see.
God uses the human body to illustrate Kingdom truths, and today’s principle does that. Muscles atrophy due to lack of use; so does faith. So, don’t be surprised when God allows circumstances to develop that require you to trust Him in faith. That’s His training plan, to strengthen you in faith!