Mini Faith or 4X4 Faith?

Col.3:16 "Remember what Christ taught and let his words enrich your lives and make you wise;teach them to each other and sing them in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing to the Lord with thankful hearts."

A mini is a small car made for tar roads. It has small wheels, which means: not too much air in them, not to even think about the cosy but confined interior. It has little space for other people. It is an excellent vehicle for the normal town roads, it's light on juice and parks easily. The downside is that there isn't a lot of packing space, the tyres wore out regularly and if you are the sporty type, you most probably have the small mirrors, forcing you to turn your head almost 360 degrees to look for dangers. Beware of large trucks!

Many a believer has this kind of faith.Good for everyday life, quite compromising, almost invisible to large trucks, good startup performance, little of God's Word, not enough place for other people's needs, not enough space for the Holy Spirit as Navigator - perfect for town roads with not too many bumps. Put it to the test on a muddy trail - and it fails.Visibility is almost none - not awake as God calls us to be.It's type of an one man verhicle.Since the tyres are so small, it needs retreads often - we get slippery - slipsliding to the side of the road, getting tired to spread the Word.

Going on a weekend mudslide, mountain trail? Stuck, overheating, pushing, burn out will be the name of the game. First bump on high speed (since you don't' have 4 wheel drive), and off goes the gear: stuck in second gear. Next bump, and you lose the exhaust, following one and oil leaks follow. Moving forward becomes all the more difficult. The engine starts to overheat and off goes the top. Next comes the the river, and OOPS, your almost completely under, drenched with dead spark plugs - you will surely need some help. This however is not the end. There are some serious mudslides ahead and if you don't have big tyres, excellent navigation , there is trouble ahead. With times you are stuck, spinning away in second, making a lot of noise with very little performance. The final test: the rocky mountain. In this case even the smallest one may appear as Mount Everest. Impossible for such a small vehicle with none of the attributes needed, too climb. This is where most end their journey, never reaching the higher ground where God calls us to be.

Thus when faith that isn't build on the Truth is put to the test it fails. Faith in ourselves, putting our will first, not feeding on God's Word enough, not spending time with Him in prayer - keeps faith small. We need God in our lives every moment, but we fail to acknowledge this, we are light on the juice, and surely there isn't enough space for the Holy Spirit and we thus go on trails (some even unnecessary) without His leading, just reading the bible perhaps once a day and leaving God back in the room. Only when trouble strikes - we rush back for a push in the right direction, get some new retreads to spread the gospel and ask for assistance to get through the river and over the bumps, never reaching our full potential in God. Only believing God for small things - not knowing Him well enough to know that He is Almighty, never even realizing who we are in Christ. Just serving Him with the lips - loads of noise pollution.

How to change this. Turn your mini faith in for 4X4 Faith. Let God's Will and not yours be in control. Jesus wants to fill us with His love, let His Spirit dwell in you. In Fact don't leave home without inviting Him to be your Navigator. Spend time with His Word asking from Him - knowledge, wisdom. Submit to God and faith becomes real. Read the Scripture, get to know all of God's wonderful promises, realize God is Almighty, build your faith in Jesus who has already won the battle, pray and pray. The more we are in His presence and obey and become less of me and more of Jesus, the more our faith grows, for we start to realize who we are in Christ - knowing that it is not in our mini strength but in His strength that we have victory.Rom 8:15-17,

The 4X4 Faith has space for more and more of God, space for the Holy Spirit, space for other people's needs and loads of space for Love and everything God wants too teach us and give us to equip us for trials. This faith has large wheels with excellent tread, for both tar and off road The 4X4 faith is heavy on juice, but definitely worth it, for it's is through a constant walk with Jesus through prayer, listening, bible study and reading, worship and praise, fellowship with fellows believers, hunger after Him that we gain power steering. We have confidence, not in our strength but in His, in His leading.

The 4X4 faith doesn't overheat with worries for they are given unto Him, it doesn't burn out, for it is made for this steady speed, it has large mirrors - wide awake, big tyres too - willingness to spread His Word, extremely visible - I believe and therefore I speak. It stands it's ground, isn't intimidated by sight, for it is not by power, nor by might - but by God's Spirit. No slip sliding, no running into trouble every now and then. Rivers can be crossed and others towed out of trouble. The mountain is a challenge, but God provides and it is taken on, with your eyes fixed on Jesus, making it worthwhile. Not too far ahead, and you can reach the higher ground where Gods wants you to be. Remember this, 4X4 Faith isn't ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes. We haven't received a spirit of fear to be enslaved again but of power and self control, and love. Let Jesus be on the throne of your life. Here you believe everything His Word says, claiming it as the truth and living it, seeing problems for what they are: but a small part of your eternal life in Jesus -knowing that it is in His strength and through His blood that we already have victory over sin and death, sickness, poverty, rejection and darkness. It is not in our strength but in Jesus that we are, we are His family, part of His devine nature. We worship Him, for He is our Redeemer.Rom 5:1-7,Rom 4:21

Permission is granted for the reprint of the above article as long as the following words appear with it: Permission for reprint has been given by Glory2Jesus. Author : Isebell Gauche. No part of the content may be replaced or changed without permission of the author. Visit http://www.Glory2Jesus.co.za for more Christian reading material.