If the people of God are to attain a thorough understanding of Biblical principles – thereby walking in our God-given purposes, and leading balanced lives – then this is certainly a topic we must address. If only we understood the truth about faith and stress; what clarity and balance this would add to our lives!
Come, join me, as we explore in-depth what the Word says and are edified together, rightly dividing the Word of truth.
We know that stress is a part of life. But excessive stress isn’t healthy for the body, mind, or soul. Stress needs to be managed and kept under control!
So, does faith involve stress?
The simple answer is no – not in and of itself… However, several negative factors often combine to make exercising and maturing one’s faith a stressful experience.
Overcoming Fear and its Family
Have Mr. Fear and his family moved into your heart’s neighbourhood unawares?
Fear is a spirit that opens the door to uncertainty, doubt, worry, anxiety, and their big brother – Stress. They are a group of relatives working together to break your faith and create despair. Believers must understand that their faith will face tests and trials – including those from this particular demonic family – seeking to weaken the believer’s faith and avert their eyes from looking unto the Lord
The Word of the Lord says in Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.”
Our adversary, the devil, and his agents, will try to break or hinder our faith. Their goal is to sow doubt, worry, and stress in our lives, preventing us from receiving what we are supposed to from the Lord. They work tirelessly to push us to the brink of giving up hope on receiving our breakthroughs, blessings, miracles, healing, and answers to our prayers.
Exercising Spiritual Muscles
Hebrews 11:1 says “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen”.
As fear and his relatives work together to try to weaken our faith—the very substance through which God brings breakthroughs, blessings, healing, miracles, and answers to prayer—they aim to stress us out, destroying the material and substance God uses to bring to bear His promises in our lives.
Take note of what is said in Romans 10:17: “So faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
Faith grows through application and exercise, similar to developing physical muscles. Just as physical exercise involves stress to build a healthy body, exercising faith also involves challenges that strengthen it. For instance, believing God for $100 is different from believing for $1000—a leap that stretches faith by $900. This leap, or stretch of faith, introduces a level of stress.
Trusting God develops our faith muscles. Throughout this growth process, fear and his relatives will fight every step, attempting to hinder our spiritual development. But as we push through all the hindrances and obstacles that come and are sent our way, our faith grows in the process.
As Romans 12:3 asserts, God has dealt to every man a measure of faith.
We all begin with a measure of faith, which comes by hearing and understanding God’s Word. Faith is developed and strengthened through controlled exposure to various stressors, as the Lord in His manifold wisdom directs and orchestrates the process and makes all things work for our good (as written in Romans 8:28, and further alluded to in Genesis 50:20). This process is similar to building physical strength through exercise, where stress on the muscles is necessary for growth.
Yet, there’s a challenge: excessive stress caused by fear, doubt, worry, and anxiety can hinder the growth of our faith, but as we mature in our faith, this once-excessive stress shrinks from our perspective to appear less and less, reflecting the underlying growth of our faith ‘muscles’. We learn to trust God’s promises and believe in our breakthroughs but without the anxiety!
Growing in Our Faith
Does developing strong faith involve hidden stress? Yes, because growing our faith is a continuous journey that requires taking leaps of faith and stretching our trust in God for greater things. This ongoing process can bring about moments of discomfort and uncertainty.
However, as we become more comfortable operating in faith stress begins to fade. We enter a place of mature faith, where we have learned to be at ease in uncomfortable situations. Despite challenges and obstacles, we confidently expect to receive blessings and breakthroughs from God.
We must remember that at times our faith will be put to the test and strengthened. God uses these tests to develop our faith and to prepare us for greater responsibilities and blessings in our walk with Him.
James 1: 2-4 encourages us thus: “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”
As you mature in faith, no matter the challenges or trials the devil throws at you – or is allowed by God – you learn to remain at peace and trust in the Lord throughout the process.
You begin to understand that all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose.
No matter how difficult the tests may be, you learn to rest and patiently wait in faith. Job’s faith was popularly on trial, and he passed the first stage of this test with excellence after losing everything including his family members.
Job did not break but said, “Naked I came out of my Mother’s womb and naked I shall return; the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
And as the passage of scripture continued, through his ordeal Job noteably neither sinned nor charged God foolishly. (Job 1:21-22)
God also tested Abraham’s faith in Genesis 22:2-18, which reads (ESV):
2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.
3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.
4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar.
5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.”
6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together.
7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”
8 Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.
9 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.
10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.
11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”
12 He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”
13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.
14 So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”
15 And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven
16 and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,
17 I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies,
18 and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”
Abraham passed his test with excellence and reaped the benefits held within the promises of God. Abraham did so well in his overall faith and mature walk of faith with the Lord that it was imputed for righteousness.
James 2:23 “And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.”
Throughout these passages, we see Abraham maintaining his composure, and calmly operating in mature faith even though it was his greatest test coming directly from God. He obeyed every direction, seemingly stress-free as the word of God states in Hebrews 11:17-19:
“By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:
Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.”
Here we see Abraham’s unwavering faith in perfection. As such we see that the more we grow and mature in faith, the more that stress gradually fades away until living and operating by faith becomes entirely stress-free. In summary, while the journey of faith involves challenges and moments of stress, it ultimately leads to a deeper, mature faith where we confidently trust in God’s promises and experience His faithfulness in our lives.
Selah.
