The author of Hebrews said that we ought to "hold our original conviction firmly to the very end." This implies that faith doesn't come naturally, and it requires perseverance. Growth of faith depends on following the word of God. Just like what Jesus in Luke chapter 17, a servant must follow what the master orders. In the process of following, servant will find that the master is faithful and reliable to his own words, and the servant's faith will grow.
In the process of becoming a full-time servant of God, the toughest stage for me was not making the decision to go full-time, but rather it was taking the step to resign from my job. I thought I could first work in a Christian organization in transition, but it didn't materialize, so I had to study full-time. In the meantime, my wife became pregnant, and many people suggested that I should hold off on quitting my job. In theory I know that God is faithful, but it was still difficult to take the step forward. I thought about how the Israelites entered the land of Canaan by crossing Jordan River, which was rather different from their experience in crossing the Red Sea. When they cross the Red Sea, Moses first lifted his staff, seawater parted, and they cross the Red Sea, so they didn't need much faith. In the case of Jordan River, however, God asked them to first step into water, and then the river will part. The river will not part if they don't step into it. When they follow God's word and witness God's work, their faith increase. God stirred up my heart with this story - If I was ordered by God to step onto the way of full-time ministry, then how can I not follow? If I don't follow Him, how will I experience God's faithfulness? Therefore, the family took a step of faith forward, and what God provided us has been far more than what we had expected. When I was in seminary I was wealthier than ever; offerings from brothers and sisters and support from churches kept on coming in, and I truly experienced God's faithfulness. When we are willing to exercise our faith, we will experience growth in faith.
Also, maturing of our faith must go through patience and perseverance. We inevitably will encounter hardship in life and our faith will be tested. True faith from God must be able to persevere through trials, for it is not just empty words from one who stumbles at the first sign of trouble. In fact, God uses hardship to strengthen our faith and remove all the impurities in us, that way we can trust in Him wholeheartedly. That's why Peter said, in the book of 1st Peter: "these have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." When our faith is strengthened through hardship, we can ask God to help us to be patient and to persevere, so that our faith may overcome hardship and trials!
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