May 19 Thought for the day...growing in strong faith

We all know as Christians we must grow in our faith. If we stagnate we are actually going backward. If we are willing and open God will provide opportunities for us to grow in our faith every day, some small and others giant leaps. Jesus did this for the disciples. See if you have challenges like this in your life today.

Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” 6 He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do. John 6:5,6

Jesus "saw" the crowd that is to say He assessed the size and makeup of the crowd accurately. Who knew exactly how large, how hungry, and the breakdown of the crowd. He turned specifically, we are told to Philip and asked a question. Jesus always knows the answer before he asks us anything so why did He ask Philip? Philip didn't know where he was in his faith.

Philip, like the other disciples, had seen Jesus heal the sick, cleanse lepers, and even raise the dead. He certainly had a level of faith. All of us have areas in our walk with Christ where we are strong. For us to become all the Lord wants for us we must grow strong even in our areas of insecurity, growing in our understanding of who Christ is in us. We must grow to understand the real power of the Holy Spirit in and through us. Like Philip Jesus will "test" us.

The word used for "test" means to prove, put through the fire, purify. It is best pictured as the way a blacksmith would test the metal of a sword for impurities. A sword may look strong but once it is placed in a fire the impurities are revealed. They can then be removed otherwise the impurities would have remained and sword while looking strong would easily have been broken.

God purposefully brings us into situations where we must be proven. He knows what we are made of, the impurities we have in us. He will walk us through faith growing situations to reveal to us our impurities so we might grow through them. He then turns a weakness into a strength.

Be thankful today for the growing and stretching situations you find yourself in. God will always be faithful to you and part of that is to help you "prove" the person you are and the person you will become!