You Can't Work It Up

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God." — Ephesians 2:8
 
Have you ever tried to talk yourself into believing something?
 
"I believe, I believe, I believe." You repeat it, hoping that if you say it enough times, it will become true. You try to pump yourself up with positive thinking, convincing yourself that faith is just a matter of mental effort.
 
But that's not how faith works.
 
Faith is not positive thinking. You can't manufacture it, and you can't work it up. No pastor can give you faith. Your mama can't give you faith. Your spouse can't give you faith. Your children can't produce faith in you, and you can't produce it in them.
 
Faith is a gift, and it comes from only one source.
 
"Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ" (Romans 10:17).
 
Faith is God-initiated, God-given, and God-sustained. The ability to believe God when nothing makes sense, the capacity to trust Him when everything falls apart, that doesn't come from inside you. It comes from Him.
 
And that's actually good news. It means you don't have to conjure up enough belief to impress God. You don't have to strain and strive and hope you can manufacture enough faith to matter. You simply come to Him empty-handed and ask Him to give you what you cannot give yourself.
 
He gave the disciples faith after they had lost it completely. He can do the same for you.
 
Stop trying to work it up. Start asking Him to pour it in.