Have you ever started out believing real strong for something, only to grow discouraged or distracted over time because you didn’t see results?
Maybe you heard or read a message from the Word of God that set your heart on fire to believe for healing, or to get out of debt, or to see a relationship restored. You prayed, believed you received, and confessed you had it now.
But then weeks, months, or maybe even years went by without seeing results, so you got discouraged and just sort of stopped believing.
I think it’s probably happened to everyone. I want to encourage and remind you today that God’s blessings come by faith, and if you refuse to let go of your faith, you cannot lose. The Word never fails. You can obtain all of God’s promises every time if you keep believing and don’t stop!
A Short Burst of Faith
I recently heard someone say that discouragement comes from fear and doubt – from believing that God is not going to do what He has promised. What happens to most of us is that we start out really strong in faith, but we can’t sustain a “long-haul fight” because we’re not full of God’s Word (Colossians 3:16).
So when the wind and waves roar, we grow discouraged and give up (we stop believing).
That’s what happened to Peter in Matthew 14:22-33. He saw Jesus walking on the water, and he asked to join Him. And we all know that Peter did get out of the boat, and he did walk on water. An amazing feat!
But we also know that when he took his eyes off Jesus (off the Word) and looked at the wind and waves (the circumstances), he began to sink. And when Jesus caught him, He said, “Oh Peter, ye of little faith.”
Jesus wasn’t talking about the size of Peter’s faith – water-walking faith is some pretty big faith! The literal translation of that phrase is, “Oh ye of a short burst of faith.”
Peter got inspired by the word of the Lord at first when He told him to “Come,” but he couldn’t sustain his faith to make it all the way to the desired result. Maybe that’s happened in your life too.
Stand and Believe
When I look back at my life and see some “faith failures” I realize that the only reason I didn’t see the result I asked for was because I stopped believing. The Word cannot fail!
We need to understand this deep in our hearts and not let the storms of life get our eyes off the Word. Don’t throw down your faith! Yes, you can pick it back up again, but what if you just kept believing and didn’t stop? I believe your answer would come sooner!
As one minister has said, “If you’re prepared to stand forever, it won’t take that long.” First John 5:4 says this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. Not our wishing and hoping, not our fearing and doubting. It’s our believing that causes the promises to come to pass.
When you saturate your spirit in God’s Word, you can keep believing! Say this with me: “I’m going to keep believing and not stop! No matter how I feel or how things look. No matter if anyone else understands or cares. God’s Word will never fail! I’m a believer not a doubter. I will stay strong in faith, giving glory to God. I can’t lose unless I quit, and I’ll never quit! I determine to live my life by faith, above the natural limitations of this world. I don’t have to see it to believe it. I walk by faith and not by sight. No matter the wind and waves, I will keep believing and not stop!”
