faith

10 Ways to Challenge and Stretch Your Faith

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Without faith, it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6). Still, many of us have a stagnant faith that has not been challenged in years. We don’t know God better, and we don’t trust Him much more than we did years ago. If that’s where you are, maybe these ideas will help you challenge your faith.

  1. Read the Bible, and learn about faith. Let the Word of God itself stretch your belief system. Learn from its lessons, and trust its promises.
  2. Commit your children and grandchildren to the Lord—even if His calling on their lives takes them to the other side of the world. It’s one thing to make this commitment when they’re babies in arms; it’s a different matter when they’re college students making this move (or young adults taking your grandchildren with them).
  3. Send your best leaders and givers to plant a church or assist a struggling congregation. Sending out members you’re unlikely to miss really doesn’t require much faith. Sending your best does.
  4. Give sacrificially until it genuinely hurts your pocketbook. Faith is not a concern when your giving is only out of your excess.
  5. Take a risk—tell somebody the good news of Jesus. For some of us, evangelism doesn’t come naturally. Only in the power of God can we even engage in a conversation—so trust Him in faith, and confront somebody in love.
  6. Ask God to break anything in you that weakens your relationship with Him. How He breaks you is His call, and your responsibility is to trust Him through the anguish.
  7. Trust a layperson to do a job you know you could do better. You might well do it better, but equipping someone else to do it will strengthen your congregation. Trust that God will direct you to the person and the job.
  8. Pray this prayer: “Lord, I give You a blank check. I will do whatever You write on the line.” He might just fill in the blanks with an unexpected, sometimes frightening role—and you’ll need faith to follow Him.
  9. Do that thing you know you need to do. I cannot know what that “thing” is for you, but God does—and you do. Rather than disobey Him, though, determine today to take a step of faith. Do that “thing” God commands.
  10. Wait. On God. If your tendency is to try to solve your own problems without first seeking God, stop that tendency. Rest in Him. Wait for Him to guide you through His Word, His Spirit, and His people before you act.

What other ways has God challenged and stretched your faith?


Editor’s note: This article was originally published at chucklawless.com


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MDiv Preaching and Pastoral Ministry

The Preaching and Pastoral Ministry track prepares students for pastoral ministry in the local church with a special emphasis on expository preaching.

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Chuck Lawless

Director of the Center for Preaching and Pastoral Leadership

Dr. Lawless currently serves as Senior Professor of Evangelism and Missions, Dean of Doctoral Studies, and Vice-President for Spiritual Formation at Southeastern Seminary, where he holds the Richard & Gina Headrick Chair of World Missions. In addition, he serves as Team Leader for Theological Education Strategists for the International Mission Board. Dr. Lawless served as pastor of two Ohio churches prior to joining the faculty of Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY, in 1996. He received a B.S. degree from Cumberland College (now the University of the Cumberlands) and M.Div. and Ph.D. degrees from Southern Seminary. He is the author or editor of twelve works, and he has contributed several chapters to other resources. He and his wife, Pam, have been married for more than 30 years, and they reside in Wake Forest with their Aussie Shepherd, Max.

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