Focus: Things That Hinder Faith

Text: Lk.17:5

"Increase our faith."

The disciples of Christ begged Him to increase their faith, meaning that there's need for our faith to grow. Paul tells the church in Thessaloniki, "We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly…" (2Thes.1:3). Faith is not only in need of growth, but it is also capable of growth. Faith can grow by leaps and bounds. Faith has room for improvement and capacity for great accomplishments.

Faith, like a seed, needs a good soil in which it can germinate, blossom and flourish. In addition to a fertile soil, faith needs rich manure to grow and produce healthy fruits. That manure is the word of God. The word of God nurtures and nourishes faith. 

Faith also grows through exercise, spiritual activity, obedience to divine instruction, and action steps.

Let's consider a few of the things that hinder the growth of faith. There are things that stand as obstacles to faith, things that stifle its growth and things that keep it from developing roots downwards and producing fruits upwards. Here are a few:

*Sense of logic

Faith is not one of the five senses. Human reasoning is diametrically opposed to faith. Faith is regarded as the sixth sense. Faith begins where the human senses are at their wit's end. The five senses cannot fathom the sense of faith. Paul says that "the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1Cor.2:14). The five senses belong to the natural man, and he CANNOT scrutinize or comprehend the things of the Spirit. Faith is the tool by which the spiritual is discerned and accessed. A believer who is controlled by his senses cannot have a growing faith. Human reasoning is a poison to faith. Faith is not against commonsense or reason, but faith is a spiritual sense which the natural sense cannot understand or agree with.

*Sense of sight

Paul tells us that we walk by faith, not by sight. Faith doesn't see before it believes; it sees after it has believed. Sight often begets fear. Matthew tells us about Peter, that "when he SAW the wind boisterous, he was AFRAID; and beginning to sink…" (Mt.14:30). 

Regardless of what faith sees, it believes God. Faith focuses on God, not on circumstances.

Peter had believed Christ, acted on His word, and stepped out of the boat to walk to Him, but on seeing how fierce and mightily raging the sea was, his faith turned to doubt, resulting in fear. Christ asked him, "Why did you doubt?" And Matthew tells us that he became afraid. In that moment of fear he started sinking. You know, the gravity of fear makes one sink, but the wings of faith enables one to fly and soar. The weight of fear is such that it drowns the fearful in a turbulent sea of his own making. Sense of sight and faith don't walk the same path. They don't belong together.

Sense of logic and sense of sight hinder the growth of faith in your soul. God speaks above your head, and that means that you must rise above your head to believe God's word. Stop lowering God's word to the level of your brain. It is by reasoning that you reason God out of your life. It is by faith that you are enabled to believe that which is way beyond your brains. Faith brings you into God's world where His word rules and His will prevails. In God's world there are only possibilities. 

In God's world and in His dictionary impossibilities do not exist. With God all things are possible, and to him who believes all things are possible - the Word of God says so.

We'll continue tomorrow with the things that hinder faith. I charge you, according to the Word of God, to build up your most holy faith by praying in the Holy Spirit. Faith grows through prayer.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter