Developing Extraordinary Faith

In 2013, our friends Scott and Jen Obremski felt led to start a new church in Kansas City, Missouri. Upon hearing about this new venture, Ashley and I sensed that God wanted us to go too. We knew God was up to something special, because He spoke to many people—individuals, couples, and families—about participating in the endeavor.

A total of forty-two people collectively struck their arrows through an enormous step of faith. Most of them lived in Springfield, Missouri, approximately three hours away from their soon-to-be new home city. Most left everything behind to start a new life.

Among them were our friends Jon and Heather Torgeson. The Torgesons were a young couple full of enthusiasm to see God work in big ways. Jon had grown up in Springfield while Heather was from western Kansas. After Heather moved to Springfield for college, she met Jon, and they were married within two years. When the announcement about the Kansas City church plant was made, the Torgesons were the first to join the launch team.

This was the biggest step of faith Jon and Heather had ever made. Jon immediately looked for any job he could find in Kansas City, not knowing anything about the city. After finding work as a custodian at the Kansas City Art Institute, he and Heather quit their jobs and prepared for the new adventure.

This endeavor was no cakewalk. The Torgesons left all of their family to go to a place where they had no family. This was especially hard since Heather was eight months pregnant with their first child. Some may have thought this young couple was making a foolish decision. Could they secure health insurance in time? How would they pay for the upcoming labor and delivery expenses during a job transition? Why would they leave their family support system for a church that was only a concept? It made little sense, but God was in it.

The Torgesons were the first to arrive in Kansas City, even before Scott and Jen. They knew the general area of the metro where the new church would be planted, but its exact location was not fully clear. Many unknowns still existed, but that didn’t stop the Torgesons from stepping into the new life God had for them—even though they had no idea how that new life would look.

They secured a new apartment, selected a new ob-gyn, and began a new career all because God wanted them to help start a new church. Now that’s extraordinary faith. They enthusiastically jumped in with both feet to embrace the unknown, and God helped them immensely every step of the way. Eventually, the remaining others made the move, and a thriving new church was birthed in Kansas City on September 15, 2013.

Belief

When we have faith, God is faithful. In fact, He moves in response to our faith. He honors those who live with faith. He’ll take average people and do something exceptional through them, simply through their faith.

Sometimes people lack the faith to believe their actions will make a difference. They might cognitively know that God can use anyone or any situation to accomplish His purposes, but they don’t actually believe it’s possible.

Knowing and believing often get intertwined, but they’re uniquely different. For example, the Pharisees knew who Jesus was, but they didn’t believe He was the Son of God. They cognitively heard and listened to Him. They could touch and see Him. But they didn’t actually believe that what He said was truth.

This reality plays out in our lives too. We can know something’s possible and yet not believe it will happen.

Have you ever thought that way before?

Maybe you know your family member could start following Jesus and you pray to that end, but you aren’t sure it will actually happen. Maybe you know your conflict at work can be resolved, but you just don’t see how. Maybe you know your consistent parenting will steer your child in the right direction, but you wonder if it’s actually sinking in.

Knowing is different from believing. The key differentiator between knowing and believing is a matter of faith. Faith is hard to describe. It’s intangible. It doesn’t always make sense. And yet a little thing called faith is what moves people from knowing to believing.

And to take it a step further, faith is what makes the impossible become possible.

Jesus validated this truth when He said, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”[i]

Faith makes anything possible.

As you experience opportunities to strike your arrows, God wants you to believe your actions will lead to a great victory. God wants you to expect that He’ll work at any given moment to bring about the result He desires.

Overcoming Doubt

When we walk by faith, times may come when we doubt our decisions and actions. If you’ve ever had your faith dwindle, you’re in good company. Even the apostles struggled with weakened faith at times, and they walked with Jesus every day.

When doubt sets in, it’s easy to have our attention and focus placed on our challenges instead of our opportunities. As we approach a door that God wants us to step through, the situation might look bleak. We might find several reasons why it won’t work or why we shouldn’t pursue it. And yet God doesn’t want us to miss an opportunity to strike our arrows because we lack faith. When God prompts us to take action, He always makes the way.

In reality, God wants to turn your life’s challenges into opportunities. We simply need to trust His leading and remain faithful to His purposes. Pastor J. D. Greear puts it this way: “Faith is not the absence of doubt; it is continuing to follow Jesus in the midst of doubt.”[ii]

So how can we remain faith-filled when doubt creeps in?

Ask God to build your faith—before you do anything else. He empathizes with our weakness, and He understands exactly where we are. Verbalizing this reality alone can build our faith, but God also will answer if you simply ask. In Luke 17:5, the apostles said to Jesus, “Increase our faith!”[iii] As you ask God to increase your faith, He’ll help you overcome doubt and step into the opportunities He’s placed before you.

Surrounding yourself with faith-filled people also builds your faith. Have you ever noticed how energized you feel after being around other faith-filled people? It’s so invigorating! You can feel like you’re ready to conquer the world, because the people with whom you surround yourself will affect the level of your faith. The Bible rightly describes this reality: “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”[iv]

At other times, when doubt creeps in, praising God rebuilds our faith. This helps us take our eyes off the perceived reality of our situation and to focus our attention back on God and what He wants for us. David in the Bible was masterful at rebuilding his faith. When facing extreme pressure, he often worshiped God to rejuvenate his faith and confidence, knowing that God would help him to accomplish His purposes even when the situation looked bleak.[v]

When God asks us to step into His purposes, our faith is often stretched. Just like the muscles in our body benefit from a good stretch, when God stretches our faith, it increases our effectiveness to His mission. Each stretch of our faith helps us go a little further into God’s purposes, gaining a little more confidence, and believing a little deeper that He will help us. God wants to stretch your faith further so He can work in even greater ways through you.

When doubt shows up, don’t give in to it. Persevere with faith even when all hope seems lost. God will help you overcome your doubt as you take your eyes off your doubts and focus your attention on the solution—God.

God always gives us the strength we need to fulfill what He wants us to do. There’s nothing that builds your faith more than seeing God do something unique through you. He wants you to live out your faith and to be filled with confidence in His ability to move in ways you never dreamed possible.

[i] Matthew 17:20.

[ii] J. D. Greear, Stop Asking Jesus into Your Heart: How to Know for Sure You Are Saved (Nashville: B&H Books, 2013), 63-64.

[iii] Luke 17:5.

[iv] Proverbs 27:17.

[v] An example of this can be found in Psalm 34.