As Big As Life Faith | Northstar Church

“But the Lord watches over those who fear him, those who rely on his unfailing love. He rescues them from death and keeps them alive in times of famine. We put our hope in the Lord. He is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone.” – Psalms 33:18-22

If you were asked to rate your faith, how would you rate it on a scale of 1 to 10 (“1” means your faith is hard to find and “10” means it manifests itself in every aspect of your life). Does it depend on your circumstances? Or on your day? Or your feelings? Or does the quality of your faith depend on the object of your faith.

You may rate your faith small as a “2” or “3” but God is infinitely big. He is the one that can move mountains, not us. We may rate our faith as small because of circumstances or feelings. Those things change constantly. But faith is not grounded in the size of our faith, but the size of our God. It is not my faith that resists temptation, obeys God’s will, or moves mountains. It is God working in me. A big faith will not make me believe better. But faith in our big God will.

Just how big is our God? He has all power. Scripture tells us He hung the moon and stars in the sky (Psalm 8:3). He has measured off the heavens with his fingers and weighed the mountains and hills on a scale (Isaiah 40:12). Nothing is too hard for Him (Jeremiah 32:17).

Faith is focusing on Jesus and not on the problems we face. In Matthew 14:29-31 we read the famous story of Peter attempting to walk on water: “Yes, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?” Peter was able to walk on the water when he focused on Jesus, but when he began to focus on the physical situation, he began to doubt and to sink. Fortunately, he knew who to look to when things looked bad.

Big faith in a big God makes such a difference in people’s lives regardless of their circumstances. For example, God told Noah to build an ark because He was going to bring a massive flood. God told Abraham to go out to a place that he would receive as an inheritance. Abraham took God at His word, left his familiar surroundings, and he went. Faith in a big God is also the reason “soul surfer” Bethany Hamilton got back on her surfboard after a shark bit off her arm. Bethany takes the shark bite as God’s test, and credits her survival to prayer. “From what seems like such a horrible thing, God has just brought glory to Himself,” she says.

Discussion Questions:

How would you describe your faith today?
What circumstances tend to bring out faith in you? What circumstances tend to bring out doubts for you regarding Jesus?
How have you seen the Lord be faithful in the past? In the present?
What can you do this week to grow your faith?