Developing an Attitude of Faith

Have you developed an attitude of faith? Well, how big is your God? Is He big enough to provide for your needs? Can He look past your ugliness and love you despite your failings? Does He have a plan for your life that is really only good? Can He heal your body, free your mind and bind up your broken heart?

Let’s think for a minute: He created the world in the dark, sent a savior to rescue me, and supernaturally preserved a book full of His promises, knowing that one day I would read them.  And, He did it all without my help! I guess that makes Him a pretty big God!  Having a Godly perspective in the everyday is the beginning point of seeing our faith work. Subsequently, when you have that perspective you will develop an attitude of faith.

Ephesians 3:20:
“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.“

I love how this verse is written in the CEV:
“…His power at work in us can do far more than we dare ask or imagine…”

No Age Limit

When it comes to imagination, children are experts at believing the impossible. When a child has been raised with an understanding of faith, they are a powerful example of what our attitude towards Kingdom principles should look like.  For the most part, their attitude of faith is a simple, uncomplicated belief in a big God who loves without boundaries, gives unconditionally, never leaves us, and has put power in us to help us do the impossible! They have an it’s-easy-for-Jesus attitude! 😊

Years ago, when she was just a preschooler, Hannah and I waited in the rain for her brothers to come streaming out through the gates of their school. Hannah’s legs swung back and forth in her hot pink stroller, and a cup of dirt lay nestled in her lap. The dirt contained a seed she had planted in nursery school that morning.

With no sign of the seed, Hannah’s grubby little fingers clutched her muddy cup, careful not to spill the precious cargo she had spent so much of the morning planting. Like most days, Miss Maxine waited next to us. Noticing the cup in Hannah’s hands she asked, “What’s that Hannah?”

“A bean plant. We growed it at school today.”

“That sounds like fun,” she said. “Are you going to plant it in the garden?”

“No, we are going to eat it!” Hannah replied. “We are going to have beans for dinner tomorrow!”

Maxine raised her eyebrows and let out a little chuckle. “Hannah,” she said, “if that seed grows beans by tomorrow, I’m going to have to believe in your Jesus!”

Surely, an act of God would be the only way that pot of mud would ever produce a bean plant—especially by the next day! Yet, Hannah did not blink in the face of Maxine’s astonishment when she said, “Jesus can do it, can’t He Mum?”

“That’s right,” I replied.

An Attitude of Faith Catches Attention

Now, Maxine had been watching our family closely over the past year. She was intrigued by our attitude of faith and had seen Hannah recover instantly from a life-threatening condition weeks earlier. It was persuasive evidence, but now the little girl everyone thought would be dead was talking to her about a Jesus who could grow a bean seed overnight. Still, as ridiculous as it seemed, Maxine didn’t immediately dismiss what Hannah said.

At home that afternoon, we carefully set the pot on the window ledge in the kitchen and gave it some more water. Every so often, Hannah would climb up on a chair to peek inside the pot to check on its progress. At bedtime, she decided it must be sleeping, because there was still no sign of it poking through the soil.

The next morning at breakfast, the toast had popped, the kettle had boiled, lunches were packed, faces were cleaned, teeth were brushed, and crumbs were swept before we noticed that Hannah’s little bean seed had grown. Really grown! A twelve-inch beanstalk, leaning precariously to one side, stood in the little pot. We had to use a pencil to stake it up to keep it from falling over.

“Mummy!” Hannah shouted, “We can have beans for dinner!” As of yet, there were no signs of beans on her new plant, but after the growth of the night before, I was not about to disagree. It was obvious that her attitude of faith was having an impact!

At school that afternoon, Hannah could not wait to find Maxine and tell her about the beanstalk. Maxine decided to come home with us and see this amazing plant for herself. All the way home, our tribe of children talked about eating beans for dinner. I, too, was curious to see what that bean stalk had been doing while we were away!

An Attitude of Faith Produces Results

Due to her attitude of faith, only Hannah walked into the kitchen without shock written on her face. The plant had grown so tall it was touching the ceiling, and three long green beans were dangling from it! Maxine’s jaw dropped and her eyes widened. She fell backwards into our kitchen chair and said, “I believe in your Jesus, Hannah!”

You see, God is not limited by our natural rules or circumstances. He is ready to meet us at the point of our faith. God has hundreds of ways of ministering and getting His grace to us, if we are open to Him.  Therefore, wherever we decide to extend our faith—He is there.

First of all, if you have a need, plant a seed of faith today, and imagine what it will grow into! Next, picture your victory, and agree with God’s report rather than man’s. Finally, speak out what you can see with that attitude of faith until you see it with your physical eyes.  In short, sometimes that means deciding to simply believe what the Bible says about your situation, and refusing to move away from that no matter what it looks like in the natural!

So, if you enjoyed the testimony of Hannah and the beanstalk, I encourage you to check out my book, Miracles & Healing Made Easy. I think you will like it!