God Grows Your Faith in Six Phases

God Grows Your Faith in Six Phases By Rick Warren — Apr 24, 2015 “Everything is possible for the person who has faith.” (Mark 9:23 GNT) The Bible says in Matthew 9:29, “According to your faith let it be done to you” (NIV). That’s the key to the great adventure of following Jesus Christ. God says, “You get to choose how much I bless your life. You believe, and I’ll do it. You believe, and I’ll bless.” Faith is like a muscle — it develops. It can be strengthened or it can grow weak, depending on how much you use it. So how does God build your faith? He uses a very predictable process. If you understand it, you can cooperate with it. First, God gives you a dream for your life. Then, you have to make a decision about it. The third stage is delay, where you wait for God to work in his time. The next stage is difficulty, where God tests you. Then, you might reach a dead end, which will make you want to give up. But, in the end, God always brings you to deliverance, the final stage of his six phases of faith. As a pastor, probably the question I’m asked more than any other is, “Why is this happening to me? I don’t understand it.” When you don’t understand God’s six phases of faith — the steps he uses to build your character — you will get discouraged. You may become resentful. You will certainly worry. You may become fearful about the future or depressed. And most of all, you can’t co-operate with what God is doing when you don’t understand the process he’s taking you through. But when you understand the six phases of faith, then you can say, “Oh, I’m in stage 4 right now” or stage 6 or stage 2. You understand better what God’s doing, and you don’t get disheartened when times are tough. Mark 9:23 says, “Everything is possible for the person who has faith” (GNT). Do you want to have a stronger faith as you go on this great adventure with God? You first need to understand the six phases of faith that God takes you through so that you won’t get discouraged when you don’t see results or answers right away. PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick. Talk It Over Why do you think God wants our spiritual growth to depend so much on how we work for it? What stage of faith do you believe God is taking you through right now? How will you respond to what God is trying to teach you in this stage or how he is testing you?

When God Smiles TODAY’S SCRIPTURE “They did not conquer by their own strength and skill, but by your mighty power and because you smiled upon them and favored them.” (Psalm 44:3, TLB) TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria Do you need supernatural strength to conquer something in your life today? Maybe you need strength on your job or to overcome an addiction. Maybe you need strength to deal with a difficult person in your life. No matter what you may be facing, God has supernatural strength for you in every situation! It’s interesting that this verse says they conquered “because God smiled upon them and favored them.” When God smiles on you, He is empowering you. Did you know that simply calling on God causes Him to smile? It pleases Him when you come to Him. When you surrender yourself to Him, that’s when you receive His favor and strength. Today, know that God loves to show Himself strong on your behalf. Turn to Him, call on Him and surrender every area of your life to Him. Let Him fill you with His joy and supernatural strength to overcome in every area of your life! A PRAYER FOR TODAY Father, thank You for smiling on me today. Show me Your favor so I can walk in Your strength today. Thank You for equipping me with everything I need to live as an overcomer. I bless You and honor You in everything I do in Jesus’ name. Amen. ​PS. ​ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBgcrfbrarA