Our faith is the way we overcome the enemy assaults.
For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith (1 John 5:4).
We have world-conquering faith, but it has to be maintained, it has to be daily developed, we have to rub the oil of revelation on it daily. We have to bath ourselves in the water of God’s word every day. This will keep our shield adequately maintained.
When people start irritating us, it’s not time to pray them out of our lives. It’s time to build up our faith. When the fiery darts of lust or rage or pride start hitting us, it’s time to oil our shield. Our shield of faith will put out the fiery darts of thoughts that are happening in our world. Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” The word of God feeds our faith. Faith is like a muscle; we can’t cheat your way to strength in the kingdom. We have to feed our faith. Our spiritual diet determines our destiny and level of faith and eventual victory. If we want more faith, we need to fuel up with God’s word.
Jesus over and over again addressed the levels of faith in the lives of people around Him because faith possesses the power to ward off the devil’s attacks.
But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. (Matt. 8:26)
And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matt. 14:31)
“If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Luke 12:28)
Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour. (Matt. 15:28)
When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” (Luke 7:9)
So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matt. 17:20)
So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” (Luke 17:6)
Jesus measured the level of people’s faith in their interaction with Him. The more that fear was evident, the less faith He saw present in the life of a person. We are called and equipped to live much differently.