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Ever Increasing Faith from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.

Small victories in your life will lead to bigger ones. When I started with the Lord, I was so hungry I wanted to do exploits for God immediately. I wanted to do the end from the beginning, but the Lord does not work that way. Like track and field, He sets obstacles before us that we can overcome, then He raises the bar a little higher. He wants us to grow in our faith. Jesus said it this way:

(Luke 16:10 NASB)  "He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much."

When you are faithful in the little things He gives you, He will trust you with something bigger. That is the way the Lord does things. He causes us to stretch and grow by overcoming obstacles in our path. 

In 1^st Samuel, the giant Goliath would walk out on the battlefield and taunt King Saul and his army morning and evening for forty days, and they would cower in fear of him. Then one day, a young boy named David was bringing supplies for his brothers who were in the army, and he heard Goliath's taunts. After David shared his mind on the subject, he was brought before King Saul. 

Saul looked David over and told him, You cannot fight this giant as you are only a youth, and he has been a warrior since his youth. But David told him this: 

(1 Samuel 17:34–36 NKJV)  ..."Your servant used to keep his father's sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God."

The Lord had already allowed David to be confronted by a lion trying to steal one of his lambs. That was an obstacle, and whether the Lord did it or not, He certainly allowed it to happen. If you read the book of Job chapter 1, you will find that satan is nothing more than a tool for testing God's servants. He can do no more to the Lord's servants than allowed. 

David was successful over the lion but then came a bear, an even bigger challenge. The bar had been raised a little more. Yet, David also overcame the bear, and he grew stronger in his faith. 

The Lord was with David the whole time, but he had to be taught to trust. If David had cowered and run away from the lion, his story might have ended there. But the Lord knew David's heart, and though he was a small shepherd on the outside, he was a fearless warrior on the inside. The Lord had to make David realize that, which took experience.

(1 Samuel 17:37 NKJV)  Moreover David said, "The LORD, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." And Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you!"

How long had the Lord spent preparing David for this fight? His whole life. We know the story, Young David ran toward Goliath, slung a stone at him, and the Lord caused the rock to strike Goliath straight on the forehead, and he collapsed. Then David took Goliath's sword and cut off his head with it. The end of a giant. The beginning of David's destiny. 

Can you see that pattern? David's destiny was on the other side of the lion. It was on the other side of the bear, and beyond the giant. Fear was always there, trying to hold David back at every opportunity, and the obstacles grew bigger each time. Yet, all he had to do was try, and the Lord ensured his success. To advance in the kingdom, David could never let fear stop him from trying. 

That is the way the Lord builds faith. He doesn't want your faith crushed but challenged. Our muscles grow when challenged, not by lying on the couch or being mangled. The balance is in between, so the Lord allows a challenge that you can overcome. Consider when the Israelites came out of Egypt:

(Exodus 13:17–18 NKJV)  Then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, "Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt." So God led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. And the children of Israel went up in orderly ranks out of the land of Egypt.

The Israelites were not ready to face the Philistines yet, so the Lord intentionally led them in a different direction. Sure, the Lord was able, but the people weren't. The day came when the Israelites, led by King David, defeated the Philistines, but they were not ready for it when they first came out of Egypt.

I have watched this pattern unfold in my own life. When the Lord started pushing me to work on computers for others, it started small and simple, but he raised the bar gradually. People would call me with increasingly difficult problems like corrupted network databases. There was always a fear challenge to pass, and most of the time, I did not want to face it. But I would pray about it and hear, "Go, and I'll go with you." Every time I went, He would make me successful in the endeavor, and it was like this for twenty years. 

Eventually, I found myself dealing with load-balancing Linux mail server clusters in data centers and setting up data centers for others. That experience helps us do what we do here at Refreshing Hope today. We couldn't be here without having first been there. 

Now, I wouldn't say I like facing lions or bears, and I would like to avoid all giants. But to grow in faith is priceless, and it can be obtained in no other way. David would have never become King without facing the lion, the bear, and Goliath. We would not have an online church if we did not overcome the obstacles along the way. 

Over a decade ago, on a Tuesday morning, I was in my prayer room when I suddenly had a trance-like vision as I had never experienced. During it, the Lord told me, "You are not alone, for I am in your corner, and I have prepared you for this day. Now get in there and fight!" Three days later, the Lord suddenly and surprisingly made me a pastor, and here I am. 

To the faithful who are patiently waiting on the Lord for a breakthrough, I can hear Him saying: 

"You are not alone, for I AM with you. The things I have spoken to your heart, I am going to bring to pass. Your faithfulness has not gone unnoticed, and it will be rewarded in the proper season. Yes, the obstacles before you appear difficult, but they are not insurmountable. Though it seems like more than you can bear. I'm telling you today, this load with you I'll share."

You can pray this with me if you like: 

Prayer: Heavenly Father, please guide me and let me see the world through Your eyes. Help me see the obstacles in my path for what they are, and never give up hope. Take me to the next level, Lord. Help me obtain a breakthrough in my life and grow in my faith. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!