Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,
7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith-more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire-may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,
9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. – 1 Peter 1:6-9

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. – James 1:2-4

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, – Romans 5:3-4

looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. – Hebrews 12:2

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. – Romans 10:17

When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. – Matthew 8:10

In 1 Peter 1:3 we read he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and verse 6 seems to refer back to this because we rejoice in this. But now, in this life, we face trials which test our faith which are necessary to prove the strength of our faith. Things are tested to see what they can stand for example: metals for what stress they can sustain, cars for safety, gold for purity and food for toxins. For our loving Father the most valuable quality in us is faith. Without faith it is impossible to please Him. We are to grow in faith and this happens as we grow in grace and the knowledge of Him. Faith comes by hearing and believing the Word of God. We count it all joy when we fall into various trials because the testing of our faith produces steadfastness, endurance, character and hope. We learn to look to Jesus who is the author and perfecter of our faith. His faith was tested by fire. He walked on this earth being tempted just as we are but He remained totally faithful to His Heavenly Father, only doing His Father’s will and pleasing God. As we walk we need to be asking ourselves am I hearing God, am I doing what He wants me to do and is what I am doing pleasing my Heavenly Father? If we are responding to Him in faith then He is pleased. Jesus commended two people for their faith, both were Gentiles, the Roman centurion (Matthew 8:10) and the Canaanite woman who wanted her child healed (Matthew 15:28). God has given to each of us a measure of faith, it is up to us to use it, nurture it, develop it and in so doing draw closer through our personal relationship with Him, the Lord of Lords, the King of Kings, our redeemer. Although we do not see Him we love Him. Through believing in Him we are filled with inexpressible joy because of the salvation He has given us which brings Him glory. The result: praise and glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

If you want to know more about how to enter a relationship with God, how to be forgiven of your sins and how to become a Christian please take a look at the Gospel section above or get in touch with me through the contact me page.