Baptist City Blog

Growing Your Faith in God

Ezekiel 47:5

"Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over."

One thing you will not avoid in the Christian life are hard times.  Hard times come for everyone.  You can do everything in your power to avoid hard times, but they will eventually come.  The benefit of the hard times is that they grow your faith in God.  While growing your faith you are also strengthening yourself as a Christian.  Therefore, the hard times are good for you.  

In the verse above, you can learn some things about hard times that will be helpful to you as you go through them.  In Ezekiel 47:3-5, Ezekiel talks about a man taking him through the waters. It is interesting to notice as you read these verses that each time he went through the waters they rose to a different level. The first time the waters were at his ankles. The second time the waters were to his knees.  The third time the waters had risen to his loins.  The last time the waters were over his head, therefore he could not pass over the river.  

This illustrates how God grows our faith. First, you will notice that God brought him through the waters. God did not just tell him to do it alone, but God was with him as he went through the waters.  No matter what God allows you to face in life, you will not face it alone, for He will be with you. God is not One Who tells you to do something and doesn't go with you; no, He will always be with you as you go through the waters of trial and endeavors.  

Second, God only allows you to go through what you can handle. Notice that the waters were at the ankles, then the knees, and then to the loins. God is showing us that whatever your faith can handle is what He will put you through. He will not put you through waters to your loins when you can only handle the waters to your ankles.  He only brings you through the portion of the waters that you can handle.  

Third, God gradually grows your faith. Notice that God did not initially bring him to the waters that were over his head, instead He brought him gradually to those waters.  Christian, you don't need to worry about waters that are over your head if you are at the waters that rise to your ankles.  Worrying about something that you are not facing is foolish.  God is with you where you are, and He will grow you to the point when you can face the greater waters of life.  

Finally, you must be willing to grow your faith in order for it to grow. You can know all about how God grows your faith, but you must be willing to step into the deep waters to grow your faith.  Let me ask you, when is the last time you stepped into a big task for Christ? You will never grow your faith by walking on the shoreline. You must be willing to step out into the waters of soul winning, church building, giving, faith promise, God's will or some great task for your faith to grow.  God presence is there to help you through the waters, and He will protect you from getting into waters too deep if you will trust Him.  

I challenge you to step out into deeper waters in some area of your life and watch your faith grow as God leads you through those waters.