Monday Messages from Heart—-Resilient Faith Learning to Fully Rely on the Lord

Published on 21 September 2026 at 08:24

Shana Miller--Guest Columnist | Somerset-Pulaski Advocate

Resilient Faith

Learning to Fully Rely on the Lord

Scripture Focus:
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God." - Ephesians 2:8

One of the questions that has been on my heart lately is this: How do we have a faith that is fully reliant on the Lord? Most Christians would probably answer by saying, "Trust God." While that answer is absolutely true, the deeper question becomes, how do we grow in that trust so that our faith increases and becomes stronger?

The answer begins with surrender.

Having a resilient faith is a faith that remains rooted in Christ through every season of life. But before we can truly rely on the Lord, we have to become honest with ourselves and we have to be willing to identify the areas of our life where we are not fully trusting Him.

Maybe we're trusting our own plans.
Maybe we're trusting our finances.
Maybe we're trusting our abilities.
Maybe we're trusting another person more than we're trusting God.

The reality is that anything we depend on more than Christ has become a substitute for trust. Surrender requires a level of self-awareness, and it requires us to come before the Lord and ask, "Father, what areas of my life am I still trying to control?" "Where am I depending more on myself than I am on You?" The beautiful thing about God is that He is faithful to reveal those areas to us. Not to condemn us, but to invite us into a deeper relationship with Him. Because a faith that is fully reliant on God comes from knowing Him. And how do we truly know Him? Through His Word, and it is really that simple.

To fully rely on the Lord, trust in Him, and develop a deeply rooted faith, we must know what His Word says, understand His promises, and learn how to apply them to our daily lives. When fear comes, we know what His Word says. When anxiety comes, we know what His Word says. When we experience loss, grief, uncertainty, waiting, temptation, or spiritual warfare, we know where to run. We run to Scripture. We find strength in His Word and through prayer. The more we know God's character, the easier it becomes to trust Him. The more we see His faithfulness throughout Scripture, the easier it becomes to believe He will be faithful in our own lives. The more time we spend in prayer, the more we learn to recognize His voice and His guidance. Faith grows when trust grows. Trust grows when we know God and we know God through His Word and through prayer.

Trusting God in Difficult Seasons

If we're honest, most of us don't mind trusting God during the good seasons. It's during the difficult seasons that our faith is tested. As much as we hate temptations and trials, the hard seasons, the waiting seasons, and those seasons where it feels like nothing good is coming from our circumstances, these are often the very seasons where our faith grows the most. These are the seasons when we learn what it means to truly depend on the Lord. These are the seasons when we come to the end of ourselves. These are the seasons when we realize we still have weaknesses. These are the seasons when God reveals areas of our flesh that we have not fully surrendered to Him.

James writes, "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." - James 1:2-4

Now let's be honest. Nobody likes trials. Nobody enjoys hardship. Nobody wakes up excited about spiritual warfare, closed doors, heartbreak, disappointment, or waiting. Yet Scripture tells us that God can use these seasons to develop something within us.

Patience.
Endurance.
Spiritual maturity.
A deeper dependence on Him.

What if the season you're in isn't punishment? God does not punish us, but what if it's actually preparation? What if the Lord is using this season to strengthen your faith and deepen your trust in Him?

Why the Enemy Fights So Hard

Sometimes people believe that once they begin following Jesus, life should immediately become easier. Yet the Bible teaches us that we have a real enemy. The enemy does not want believers doing good works. He doesn't want us bearing fruit. He doesn't want us growing stronger in our faith. He doesn't want us becoming deeply rooted in Christ. Why? Because a believer who is fully relying on Jesus becomes a threat to the kingdom of darkness.

Maybe your ministry isn't on a large platform.
Maybe your mission field is your workplace.
Maybe your mission field is your children and grandchildren.
Maybe your calling is simply to faithfully serve the people God has placed around you.

Never underestimate what God can do through one faithful person, because all it takes is one seed to be planted. One seed to be watered. One conversation. One act of obedience. One life surrendered to Jesus. And future generations can be impacted because of it. You may never fully see the impact your faithfulness has on others, but God does.

When It Feels Like Everything Is Coming Against You

Have you ever had a season where it felt like everything was spiritual warfare? Closed door after closed door. Delay after delay. Obstacle after obstacle. Moments where it feels like everyone and everything is coming against you. Those seasons can be exhausting, but they are also invitations. Invitations to draw near to God. Invitations to dig deeper into His Word. Invitations to spend more time in prayer. Invitations to seek His wisdom and discernment. Sometimes God closes doors because He has something better prepared. Sometimes He is protecting us from something we cannot yet see. Other times, He allows us to walk through challenges because the process itself is developing our character. Remember, Jesus was tempted too. Hebrews tells us that He was tempted in every way, yet without sin. Those moments of temptation reveal areas where we still need God's help. They expose weaknesses. They uncover places where we still need healing, growth, and surrender. While we may not enjoy that process, it is often the answer to our prayer of becoming more like Christ.

God Is Still With You

There are also times when the enemy genuinely attacks because he wants to discourage us from doing God's will. He wants us to quit, to get distracted, to discourage us, and wants us focused on fear instead of faith. This is exactly when we must dig even deeper into Scripture. The moments when we must lean into prayer. This is when we must become fully reliant on the Lord.

God's promise has never changed.
Just as He promised Moses.
Just as He promised Joshua.
Just as He promised His people throughout the Old Testament and just as Jesus promised in the Great Commission: He is with us always.

Not sometimes. Not only when life is easy. Not only when everything goes according to plan. Always.

And for every true born-again believer, that is still true today.
His Spirit lives within us and His presence goes before us.
His grace sustains us. His Word strengthens us and His faithfulness never fails.

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God." - Ephesians 2:8. For it is the grace through faith that saves us; it is God's grace that will also carry us into a Resilient faith as we walk closely with Him and become fully reliant on our faith.

What area of my life am I struggling to fully surrender to God?
What am I trusting more than I am trusting the Lord?
How consistent am I in spending time in God's Word?
How intentional am I in prayer?
What trial or waiting season might God be using to grow my faith?

This Week's Challenge:

Take 15 minutes each day to read God's Word and pray specifically about one area where you need to trust Him more. Ask the Lord to reveal anything you have not fully surrendered, then choose to place that area into His hands. One step of surrender at a time builds a resilient faith.

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for Your grace, Your mercy, and Your faithfulness. Thank You that even when our faith feels weak, You remain strong. Show us the areas of our lives where we have not fully surrendered to You. Teach us to trust You more deeply and rely upon You completely.

Help us grow in Your Word. Help us become people of prayer. Give us the courage to trust You during trials, temptations, waiting seasons, and spiritual battles. When we come to the end of ourselves, remind us that You are more than enough.

Build within us a resilient faith, a faith that stands firm upon Jesus Christ regardless of circumstances. Let our lives bear fruit that impacts generations to come and brings glory to Your name.