Much of the Christian life is based on faith. I would assume most of us are familiar with the idea of faith, and belief. But still, we find many Christians that don’t walk in faith, and don’t live by it. They have belief in God, and in His power, but they aren’t operating in any sort of faith.

This, I find, is why the body of Christ often looks very similar to the rest of the world. We see Christians everyday that are riddled with fear, anxiety, and depression. The same thing that has corrupted the rest of the world, has corrupted the body. This is by no means a criticism on Christians or Christianity, I’ve once dealt with those same feelings, and issues. But there is a clear and definite way out.

As Christians, we should be operating and living in faith. We should not be operating in fear or anxiety, as the rest of the world does. Our lives should be portraying true faith in Christ, that takes us out of our pain and gives us new life. If scripture tells us that faith can move mountains, heal us, and give us new life in Christ, why are we not seeing that?

As we’ve said, our faith must become operable, and we must learn to live by it, and walk in it. This is done through a process that I call, “consider it so”.

Consider It

What is the difference between know and consider?

A lot of us know that God is powerful, and wants us to prosper and do well. But, when we start to have problems or issues in life, we panic. Our “faith” wavers and we begin to stress out about all that God has already promised He’ll do. We begin to question what we “know” and wonder about all of the other possibilities.

Have you ever been scared that you will go hungry? Or that God will provide for you? Proverbs 10:3 tells us this about God, and hunger.

“The Lord will not allow the righteous to hunger, But He will reject the craving of the wicked.”
‭‭(Proverbs‬ ‭10‬:‭3‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬)

We can hear this verse, and believe that we have the faith for it, without it doing anything for us. It’s probably happened before with this very verse. Even though you hear this verse, and “believe” that God will provide this for you, it may not happen. Not because God is not faithful to His word, but because of your own faith.

Let’s look at the difference between know, and consider with this verse. I know that this verse says that God will not let His righteous people go hungry. I’ve read it, I’ve heard it. But I’ve never personally taken time to consider it and think on it. It’s never been on my mind for an extended period of time, and I’ve never thought about it for too long. Thus, my faith for this type of provision won’t be as strong as my faith for other things that God provides, such as peace and comfort. I’ve thought on those things, and mediated on those truths. Those truths then have become real to my mind. God has never let me go hungry, but I’ve never gotten close to that point yet. However, I have had times of anxiety, and it was in the consideration, or the thinking on, of those truths, that my faith began to operate.

Chewing Cud

There is a process for the nutrition of cattle, known as “chewing cud”. It is a process where a cow eats food, but doesn’t swallow it all. Instead, it chews the “cud”, and continually chews it, and spits it back up to chew it again. It does this process until it gets all the nutrients and then they are able to swallow the food.

That may seem random, or gross, but it’s a process that is similar to what we do as we learn to consider the truth. As we hear something, we can pocket it until we are able to think on it again. From there, we can come back to that thought again, and again, until it has become part of our thinking, and truly real to our minds.

This process and way of thinking as we consider the truth, allows us to get all of the necessary “nutrients” out of the things that we are thinking on. To consider is a process that is especially useful when it comes to scripture, and the things of God. As Jesus is being tempted in the wilderness, He even relates the Word to spiritual food.

“But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’ ””
‭‭(Matthew‬ ‭4‬:‭4‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬)

Our faith is fueled when we not only hear the Word of God, but we allow ourselves to consider it. When we think on it, we are feeding our spiritual self, and feeding our faith. For the cow, chewing cud is allowing them to get all the nutrients they can, to live and walk as they should. For the Christian, considering the truth is giving our minds the necessary nutrients to walk and live by faith.

Mediating on the Word

Mediating on the Word is the easiest way to consider the truth. It causes our mind to stay on His words, His faithfulness, and His promises. Practicing this is what will take our faith from inoperable and wavering, to firm and useable.

We’ve certainly discussed mediating on the Word before, but if you’ve never heard someone speak on it, it simply means to think and place your thoughts on the Word of God and what it says. It can be very practical, or very impractical. Let’s make it practical.

Take a verse that you find is very powerful, comforting, calming, etc. For me, I love to think about Romans 8:37.

“But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.”
‭‭(Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭37‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬)

This verse is very powerful and comforting to me. It reminds me that I am more than a conquerer of whatever situation I am in. For instance, I am more than a conquerer of anxiety. I’m also more than a conquerer of my bad habits. This verse reminds me of those things, when I begin to feel overwhelmed in life.

However, it took time for me to feel comforted, and truly have faith in this truth. It took me thinking about this truth, and considering it for some time, before I believed it truly, and before it helped me at all.

I encourage you to find some verses to mediate on, and think on those verses whenever you get the chance. Think on them, consider them, and come back to them.

Final Thoughts

Faith is a crucial thing in Christianity. Obviously, we need faith to receive salvation, but we also need faith to do just about anything that matters.

We receive from the Lord, through faith. We’re healed, through faith. We conquer everything in life – depression, anxiety, fear, spiritual attacks – all by faith. That is why it is so important that our faith is operable, and we are able to bless others by faith. We need to build our faith and hear, listen, read the Word more. And we need to consider the truth.

Our minds are incredibly powerful, and much of our lives are determined by what we think and mediate on, so we need to think about and meditate on the truth. I strongly encourage you, to find some verses and mediate on them. Think on their truths, consider them, and continually come back to them. Through this practice, I believe our faiths can grow and operate in a way that doesn’t just bless us, or others, but also, the Lord.

Have a great week!