October 12, 2026
Nourish Your Faith
By Michael A. Youssef, Ph.D.
How can persecution be a source of strength instead of failure? How can persecution actually increase our faith instead of destroying it? Trials and sufferings drive us closer to the heart of God. Trials drive us to cling to God more tightly. Afflictions teach us to depend on God with every fiber of our being.
We tend to speak of faith as if it were a tangible commodity that can be measured and weighed and quantified. People sometimes say, “I wish I had your faith,” as if they were saying, “I wish I had your blue eyes,” or, “I wish I were as tall as you.” Some people talk of faith as if it is here today, gone tomorrow—“I used to believe, but I lost my faith.”
Faith is not something that can be weighed by the ounce. Faith is not something we inherit through our DNA. And faith is not something we can lose the way an absent-minded professor loses his glasses. Faith is a growing relationship of trust in the living God.
Relationships are dynamic, not static. Therefore, our trust relationship with God is equally dynamic. It’s like a tree whose roots grow deeper into the soil and whose branches grow higher into the sky—but which dies without water. It’s like the muscles of an athlete—muscles that grow strong with exercise but atrophy when inactive.
If your faith is weak and spindly, you need to water it with the Truth of God’s Word. If your faith is flabby and atrophied, you need to exercise it by living in utter dependence on God. The believers in Thessalonica were continually in the Word as they tested and trusted God’s promises. Won’t you grow your relationship of trust in the living God by seeking His face—His character—in His Word?
Prayer: Lord, I want to trust You more and more with my life. Help me to prioritize time spent with You in Your Word so that I can better live out each day in submission to Your will. Strengthen my faith with Your Gospel. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
“The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’” (Luke 17:5).
*Excerpt adapted from Fearless Living in Troubled Times by Michael A. Youssef © 2017. Published by Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, OR. Used by permission.
Learn more in Dr. Michael A. Youssef’s sermon series Until Christ Returns: LISTEN NOW
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