Dr. Charles Stanley
Read | Genesis 22:1-14
We’re determined to make spiritual progress. No longer content with little faith, we are removing our gaze from ourselves and putting it onto the Lord. We are reaching for greater faith.
We start by becoming students of the Bible who have a compelling desire to experience the Lord’s presence, develop greater intimacy with Him, and be conformed to Christlikeness. A second characteristic of deeper trust is a heavy reliance on the Holy Spirit, evidenced by the habit of looking to Him before making decisions. Third, we demonstrate the willingness to wait on God and trust what He says. The Lord commended the centurion for his strong convictions. Trusting in the person and character of Jesus, the soldier believed Christ’s words were all that was required (Matthew 8:5-10).
But there is an even higher level of faith, where unbelief is cast out and only trust in God remains. Abraham displayed such flawless confidence when the Lord commanded him to sacrifice Isaac. Little faith would never have cut any wood or saddled donkeys to make the trip. Great faith—though it may have balked about putting Isaac on the altar—would have traveled as instructed, believing in God to work things out. Complete faith will act as Abraham did: he believed what the Lord had promised him yet carried out the divine instructions, even though they appeared to contradict God’s pledge.
May complete faith be the prayer and aspiration of your heart. The Holy Spirit is always ready to help you reach that next level of faith.
