Letting the light shine in can admittedly be a challenge in times when you’re going through a period with a lot of conflict or stillness. Trusting that there is a plan and holding onto one’s faith, knowing that it will provide a pathway forward is not always easy.
Sometimes, what helps are actions taken to strengthen your faith. While we wait to discover what’s next in our respective personal stories, there are things you can do to strengthen your faith and put your trust in God.
Here are some activities on how to strengthen your faith:
1. Commit to more trust
If we trust and have faith in God, feelings of worry, stress, anxiety, fear, and doubt can slowly diminish and be gone. Trust that provision will be provided and recommit to that knowledge. Remove all of these negative emotions and replace them with belief, kindness to yourself and others, and find your strength in trusting that you are on the right path.
2. Accept your hardships
We are given suffering and hardship to use as an opportunity to succeed and learn. A test of faith can have great meaning as you grow your faith, develop it more, stretch yourself, and ultimately overcome. It can be incredibly, incredibly difficult to rejoice in one’s trials and to be grateful for things that are causing pain, but God loves you, and if you have trust in Him, there is a great life waiting to be found in these moments.
3. Pray and communicate
Make it a point to pray more and communicate what’s in your heart to God. Be honest, even if there are things you are not proud of. It’s alright to lift these messages to God if they are your truth. Speak of what burdens, worries, and fears you may have. Ask for help and intervention. God’s always listening, even when perhaps we aren’t our best at maintaining the relationship with Him. There is real power in prayer. Pray with your whole heart.
4. Read scripture for wisdom
The Word of God is right there, ready to be found in the Bible. When you need guidance, read the Word, and in it, there is strength, hope, love, peace, and joy ready to be found. There are lots of ways to read the Bible. You might choose to look up passages that inspired you in the past or parts that you haven’t read that haven’t been recommended. Even a single verse a day can prove helpful in exercising one’s faith.
5. Be more committed to your church
Re-dedicate yourself to living life as a kind, helpful Christian, just like what is spoken about in Church. Many people go to church every week, but not all live like Christians 7 days a week. Committing to living out his Word can mean very simple acts.
For example, you can donate to a United Church of Canada mission and service fund. Or you can hold the door for someone and engaged in conversation with the cashier at the grocery store. Alternatively, you can check in on a friend you haven’t spoken to in some time. If there’s one thing the world can use, it’s a little more kindness.
6. Be of service to others
Be of service to your local church. Look for ways to participate or assist with something that interests you. There are many ways to be of service to the Church, of course, from volunteering to donating to a church mission fund. Local communities are served well by churches across the country who facilitate help for people from all walks of life. Some great programs and services are always looking for more time, money, and assistance.
7. Share time with others
There are lots of learning from Him. You have surely learnt lessons, as have others. Even if you aren’t the most social person globally, share your time with others. There may be other believers in your Church that you can offer to have a coffee with and discuss your faith, sharing what you’ve learned and your experience while learning from their experience. Being with others who share the same faith it’s a way to encourage and reinforce the connection to it.
8. Find and be yourself
Sometimes, we are so focused on other things at the moment that we forget about who we are as people. God made you shine bright. If you aren’t loving and caring to yourself, it can be very difficult for others. You may need to go deep within yourself, but you need to find and accept yourself to strengthen your faith. For someone who might not understand who they are, this is where being of service to others can be your guide.
9. Practice forgiveness
There is no room in one’s faith for hatred, bitterness, and jealousy. Let go of these emotions. Forgiveness towards others is necessary. You aren’t living your best life as a Christian if you aren’t preaching and living a life of gratitude and forgiveness. This is easier said than done, of course, but try, try, and keep trying until all that poison is gone from your heart. Please know that all that weight does not have to be carried forward. When you forgive, you put all of it down and for good.
