Faith Grows From What You Hear

Somebody once described God to you in a way that made you flinch. Angry, keeping score, waiting for you to slip. Nobody runs toward a God like that.

Romans 10:17 says, "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Faith is not something you squeeze out of yourself. It grows in you from what you keep hearing, which means what you have been told about God is doing more work in you than you realise.

Look at the man with leprosy in Matthew 8. Matthew 8:2 and 3 say, "And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean. Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, I am willing; be cleansed." He did not hide. He walked straight up to Jesus, because whatever he had been hearing about this Man made that feel possible.

If all he had heard was that God was out to punish him, he would have stayed in the shadows with everyone else. Psalm 103:8 says, "The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy." That is the God the leper was betting on, and Jesus proved him right by touching a man nobody else would touch.

Acts 10:38 says, "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil; for God was with Him." That is your measuring stick. When you hear something about God, hold it next to what Jesus actually did. If it does not match, it is not the Father, and you can let it go. Give the Holy Spirit more of the real thing to work with, because He is the One growing this faith in you.

You are not far off, and He is not annoyed. Hear enough of that and you will stop keeping your distance.