“And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God” (Romans 4:19-20).
Faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17). This means that the more of God’s Word you hear, the greater your faith. Yet, it is possible to have a lot of faith that is weak. It’s like a guy who eats a lot until he gets so massive, yet does little or no exercises. All he will have will be a lot of flesh that is weak. A smaller guy who is fit and well-toned may beat him up effortlessly, because the first guy has a big, weak body.
So, weak faith is the result of the lack of exercise of faith, or the non-exercise of faith. If you hear God’s Word but you don’t act on it, your faith will be weak. This is the reason it’s possible to know all the verses of Scripture concerning a particular subject in the Word of God and yet have no results. Until you act on the Word of God you’ve received, your faith will be weak and you’ll stagger when the storms of life come. But the moment you decide to exercise your faith, by putting the Word of God to work, your faith will be strong.
Abraham had strong faith! He called himself “father of many” even when he didn’t have any physical descendants. The Bible says he was “strong in faith, giving glory to God” and that’s one of the characteristics of strong faith—it gives glory to God. How? By declaring that God has done whatever He says He has done! When your faith is strong, you readily accept, believe and do whatever God tells you in His Word.
Remember the principle again—you must do the Word that you know for your faith to be strong. Don’t let the Word remain in your notepad or in your mind or in your heart; speak it forth, for strong faith speaks! Declare what the Word says, irrespective of the contrary circumstances. That’s how to build strong faith—the faith that always works.
Confession
My faith is strong and not weak, for I put to practice God’s Word that I hear! The Word is not only in my heart but also in my mouth! Irrespective of contrary circumstances, I’ll keep talking the Word, knowing that God has done what He says He has done, and I have what He says I have. Hallelujah.
Further Study
James 1:22-24 GNB: “Do not deceive yourselves by just listening to his word; instead, put it into practice. If you listen to the word, but do not put it into practice you are like people who look in a mirror and see themselves as they are. They take a good look at themselves and then go away and at once forget what they look like”
Romans 4:19-20 CEV: “Abraham’s faith never became weak, not even when he was nearly a hundred years old. He knew that he was almost dead and that his wife Sarah could not have children. But Abraham never doubted or questioned God’s promise. His faith made him strong, and he gave all the credit to God”
(Taken by permission from Christ Embassy Church , aka Believer’s LoveWorld Ministries , Lagos, Nigeria. www.ChristEmbassy.org )
