Daily Devotional ~ Fruit of the Spirit ~ Faith
Worship: If you'd like to play a song before you begin or while you read, may we recommend "Let Our Faith Become A Mountain" by Jesus Culture. Why not try asking alexa, siri, or google to play it for you?!
Daily Verse: But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
☆ Galatians 5:22-23 NLT
Let's Talk About It: The last devo touched on the fruit of the Spirit. Today, I want to begin talking about each fruit, starting with Faith. Some translations refer to it as faithfulness, but either way you slice it, it's still faith.
What is faith? Hebrews 11:1 says, "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
The Message translation says this, "The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd."
It explains faith as "trust in God." This is why faith must be exercised, or worked out, so that it can grow. Just like a muscle, with faith, if you don't use it, you lose it. And unfortunately many of us are so afraid of trouble, trial, or turmoil (let's call them the 3 T's) that we let our faith become stagnant and eventually waste away.
There is hope however, because Jesus says all we need is faith the size of a mustard seed, as long as we trust in Him, He can make things happen on our behalf (cf. Matt. 17:20).
I don't know what level of faith your working with, but Christ does and He wants to use this time to encourage you to use it, I believe. Life may not look the same anymore, but Jesus Christ NEVER changes. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8).
Additional Reading: Hebrews Chapter 11 - it's filled with nuggets of wisdom concerning faith. Take a few minutes to read through. What was the verse that stood out to you most?
Prayer: Abba, thank you for today. Thank you for another opportunity to love and encourage everyone I encounter today. Father, help me be someone that helps build faith in others, not tear it down. Lord, you know where my faith lies. If it be in anything other than you, Jesus, please help me to remove my grip on those things so that I can hold tight to you. Thank you, Jesus for always being here to guide me and for helping me build my faith in you. There is none like you God, and I am in awe of your love, power, and absolute greatness. Thank you for protecting my family and I, for healing the patients with covid-19, and for freeing our world from the powers of darkness. Lord, thank you for caring for the meat factory workers, the cruise ship workers, doctors and nurses, retail workers, and any other employees that are not feeling well or at high risk for catching this virus. Father, I trust you, that you have a plan throughout all this, and I believe it is better and greater than anything humanity has seen before. Lead me Lord, in faith, as I wait for your return. I love you Jesus and in your name I pray, amen.