The Simple Path
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Go; let it be done for you
according to your faith.
Matthew 8:13
Why are you so afraid?
Do you still have no faith?
Mark 4:40
When the Son of Man comes,
will He find faith on earth?
Luke 18:8
according to your faith.
Matthew 8:13
Why are you so afraid?
Do you still have no faith?
Mark 4:40
When the Son of Man comes,
will He find faith on earth?
Luke 18:8
Jesus talked about faith a lot!
- When Jesus healed someone, He often related their healing to their level of faith.
- When Jesus was not able to do any miracles, He said it was due to people’s lack of faith.
- When the disciples panicked during the storm, Jesus was clearly disappointed that after all the time they had spent with Him, they still seemed to have no faith.
- Jesus questioned whether on His return He would find any faith on earth.
What is Faith?
Faith is defined as “complete trust or confidence in someone or something”. Hebrews 11:1 says that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”. Note the certainty here: “complete trust”, “assurance”, “conviction”. To develop complete trust or confidence in someone, we have to get to know them and experience how they act in various situations. We can do that directly by establishing a relationship with that person, or we can rely on what other people we trust say about that person.
Where Does Faith Come From?
The good news is that we don’t have to develop or increase our faith ourselves. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that “Faith is an entirely free gift that God makes to man” (162), and that the Holy Spirit “constantly perfects faith by his gifts, so that Revelation may be more and more profoundly understood." (158) Paul also tells us that our faith is strengthened through the testimony of the Apostles and the other disciples. (Rom 10:17)
The Simple Path Approach to Faith
Because faith is a gift from God, and is strengthened in us by God and through the testimony of other believers, the Simple Path advocated by Mother Teresa makes a lot of sense:
- The first step is Silence, which allows us to quiet our minds, focus on God, and perceive what He might be trying to communicate to us.
- That silence leads us to Prayer, which allows us to establish and maintain a relationship with God.
- The Holy Spirit within us will lead us to learn more about God from our Pastor, the Bible, and other spiritual teachers and books.
How God Grows Our Faith – "The Nudge Cycle"
This is where it gets exciting! God loves us and wants nothing more than to have a strong relationship with us, helping us to become the person He wants us to be, and to accomplish what He created us to accomplish. He wants us to understand that we are His children, and He loves us even more than a mother or father loves their children. He wants to conform us to His Son, making it possible for us to obey all His commands, and to prepare us for the mission He has for us in this world. As our divine Father, He knows this takes time and has to be accomplished in small steps. Generally, it works something like this:
1. God starts with a little nudge that inspires us to take a small step of faith.
2. Even that small step of faith may seem difficult or impossible, but He strengthens us to do it.
3. What God promised actually happens, even though it seemed impossible.
4. We are excited and thankful for what God has done.
5. Our trust in God grows stronger, increasing our faith.
6. The cycle starts over again as God gives us a slightly bigger challenge each time.
Depending on God’s plan and our own openness or resistance to that plan, the process may go fairly quickly or very slowly, but it is important to understand that the process never ends here on earth. It’s like climbing a mountain, and discovering when you arrive at what you thought was the summit that there is another higher peak that you couldn’t see before. Typically to get to the higher peak, you have to first descend into a valley between the two peaks. The same thing happens in our spiritual journey as God allows us to backslide or get sidetracked for a while. Just as it is disheartening to have to descend down into a valley, knowing you are going to have to climb back up even higher on the other side of the valley, it is disappointing to backslide or get sidetracked on our journey to holy perfection in Christ, but it is all part of the process of growing in faith.
There are no shortcuts on this journey, but the Prayers of Surrender can help keep us on track and accelerate the process by continually reminding us of the importance of total surrender to God, and preparing us for the steps along this journey of faith. (See The Surrender Trilogy as a Journey in Faith )
Consider/Discuss:
- On a scale of one to five, how much faith in God do you feel that you have?
1 = No faith 2 = A little faith 3 = About half the time
4 = Most of the time 5 = No doubt at all
- Do you feel you have a strong relationship with God and His Son Jesus Christ?
- Has your faith been strengthened by the testimony of others?
- Has your testimony strengthened the faith of others?
- Has God strengthened your faith through the “nudge cycle”?
Scripture Memory Verse
Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith? Mark 4:40
Let's Pray! - Praying Continually
- When Jesus healed someone, He often related their healing to their level of faith.
- When Jesus was not able to do any miracles, He said it was due to people’s lack of faith.
- When the disciples panicked during the storm, Jesus was clearly disappointed that after all the time they had spent with Him, they still seemed to have no faith.
- Jesus questioned whether on His return He would find any faith on earth.
What is Faith?
Faith is defined as “complete trust or confidence in someone or something”. Hebrews 11:1 says that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”. Note the certainty here: “complete trust”, “assurance”, “conviction”. To develop complete trust or confidence in someone, we have to get to know them and experience how they act in various situations. We can do that directly by establishing a relationship with that person, or we can rely on what other people we trust say about that person.
Where Does Faith Come From?
The good news is that we don’t have to develop or increase our faith ourselves. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that “Faith is an entirely free gift that God makes to man” (162), and that the Holy Spirit “constantly perfects faith by his gifts, so that Revelation may be more and more profoundly understood." (158) Paul also tells us that our faith is strengthened through the testimony of the Apostles and the other disciples. (Rom 10:17)
The Simple Path Approach to Faith
Because faith is a gift from God, and is strengthened in us by God and through the testimony of other believers, the Simple Path advocated by Mother Teresa makes a lot of sense:
- The first step is Silence, which allows us to quiet our minds, focus on God, and perceive what He might be trying to communicate to us.
- That silence leads us to Prayer, which allows us to establish and maintain a relationship with God.
- The Holy Spirit within us will lead us to learn more about God from our Pastor, the Bible, and other spiritual teachers and books.
How God Grows Our Faith – "The Nudge Cycle"
This is where it gets exciting! God loves us and wants nothing more than to have a strong relationship with us, helping us to become the person He wants us to be, and to accomplish what He created us to accomplish. He wants us to understand that we are His children, and He loves us even more than a mother or father loves their children. He wants to conform us to His Son, making it possible for us to obey all His commands, and to prepare us for the mission He has for us in this world. As our divine Father, He knows this takes time and has to be accomplished in small steps. Generally, it works something like this:
1. God starts with a little nudge that inspires us to take a small step of faith.
2. Even that small step of faith may seem difficult or impossible, but He strengthens us to do it.
3. What God promised actually happens, even though it seemed impossible.
4. We are excited and thankful for what God has done.
5. Our trust in God grows stronger, increasing our faith.
6. The cycle starts over again as God gives us a slightly bigger challenge each time.
Depending on God’s plan and our own openness or resistance to that plan, the process may go fairly quickly or very slowly, but it is important to understand that the process never ends here on earth. It’s like climbing a mountain, and discovering when you arrive at what you thought was the summit that there is another higher peak that you couldn’t see before. Typically to get to the higher peak, you have to first descend into a valley between the two peaks. The same thing happens in our spiritual journey as God allows us to backslide or get sidetracked for a while. Just as it is disheartening to have to descend down into a valley, knowing you are going to have to climb back up even higher on the other side of the valley, it is disappointing to backslide or get sidetracked on our journey to holy perfection in Christ, but it is all part of the process of growing in faith.
There are no shortcuts on this journey, but the Prayers of Surrender can help keep us on track and accelerate the process by continually reminding us of the importance of total surrender to God, and preparing us for the steps along this journey of faith. (See The Surrender Trilogy as a Journey in Faith )
Consider/Discuss:
- On a scale of one to five, how much faith in God do you feel that you have?
1 = No faith 2 = A little faith 3 = About half the time
4 = Most of the time 5 = No doubt at all
- Do you feel you have a strong relationship with God and His Son Jesus Christ?
- Has your faith been strengthened by the testimony of others?
- Has your testimony strengthened the faith of others?
- Has God strengthened your faith through the “nudge cycle”?
Scripture Memory Verse
Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith? Mark 4:40
Let's Pray! - Praying Continually