A Faith That Encourages: Building Others Up Through Trust in Christ

Have you ever hesitated before stepping out onto a frozen river, uncertain whether the ice would hold your weight? There’s a story about a traveler who faced this exact dilemma. Standing at the shore, he could see the ice stretching across the water, but fear gripped him. Would it support him? With trembling steps, he finally ventured out, moving carefully, listening to every groan beneath his feet. Halfway across, something remarkable happened. He looked up to see a farmer confidently driving a fully loaded wagon across that same ice, steady and unhindered.

The traveler realized something profound in that moment: the strength of the ice never depended on the strength of his faith. The ice was solid whether he tiptoed nervously or ran boldly across it. What mattered was not the intensity of his confidence but the reliability of what he trusted.

This simple story captures a powerful spiritual truth. Our faith works the same way. We may waver, our steps may tremble, our hearts may feel uncertain, but the One we trust remains solid, unchanging, and able to hold us. Christ does not depend on the strength of our faith. Rather, our faith depends on the strength of Christ. As Jesus himself said, if we have faith like a mustard seed—even the smallest trust in a strong Savior—we can be carried safely across the deepest waters.

The Power of a Good Report

When faith takes root in our lives, it produces something beautiful: a good report. In 1 Thessalonians 3, we read about Timothy bringing news to the apostles about the church in Thessalonica. His report contained three vital characteristics: their faith, their love, and their continual remembrance of one another.

Faith doesn't just cause us to think about God alone. True faith causes us to think about each other. It creates deep concern, deep love, and deep compassion for fellow believers. When we gather to pray for one another, you can hear genuine concern in people’s voices. That’s faith at work.

If you find yourself indifferent to the struggles of others, it may reveal a lack of faith—a lack of understanding of who God is in your personal life. John Calvin noted that faith and love together represent the sum total of godliness. All who aim at this double mark are beyond the dangers of error in their whole life.

The good news Timothy brought wasn't just about personal piety. It was about a community living out the gospel through faith and love in everything they were doing. Even amid persecution, the church continued to demonstrate Christ to the world.

Faith That Affects Others

Here's a challenging question: What do we see as we move forward in our Christian walk? Are we so worried about the dangers around us that we miss all the great things God is doing? We often sing about counting our blessings, but how often do we actually look for those blessings instead of fixating on problems?

Your faith affects other people. If you have weak faith, it negatively affects others. If you have strong faith, it encourages and builds up those around you. This is unavoidable. We are interconnected in the body of Christ.

The apostles experienced this firsthand. While facing distress and affliction, they found comfort through the faith of the Thessalonian believers. In fact, their report was so encouraging that it brought them back to life spiritually. They weren't looking at the negative circumstances surrounding them. They were looking at the good things God was accomplishing through faithful believers.

Christians should be the happiest people in the world. Why? Because we already know what's going to happen. No matter what takes place in this life—whether we have wealth or poverty, health or sickness—we are going to be in the presence of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We are already spiritually rich beyond measure.

So why do we walk around with sad faces? Why do we live as though we have no hope?
Charles Spurgeon once observed that a servant of God is never more delighted than when he sees the Holy Spirit visit the hearers, making them know the Lord and confirming them in that knowledge. Conversely, when God doesn’t bless the word of his servants, it feels like death to them. Without blessing, they become heavy of heart, as though driving a car with no tires and a broken engine.

Knowing that your faith is affecting the lives of others should be the greatest joy of your life. It should be the aim of every believer—not just to plant seeds, but to participate in the harvest.

Prayer That Transforms

When we have faith that affects others, we naturally begin to pray for them. But this isn’t just a prayer for physical healing or material needs. It’s a prayer for those who are truly sick—those who don’t know Christ Jesus. Those who are lost.

The prayer in 1 Thessalonians 3 reveals an earnest desire with two components: to see fellow believers face to face and to supply what is lacking in their faith. This isn’t complaining about deficiencies. It's a genuine desire to help others become more Christ-like and grow in their spirituality.

Where might we be lacking? Consider these possibilities: biblical knowledge, spiritual growth, Christian love, unity, harmony, vision, biblical perspective, faith, love, joy, peace, patience (the ability to endure evil without losing one’s temper), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, humility, and self-control.

Just as Peter walked on water when his eyes were fixed on Jesus but began to sink when he focused on the waves, we too must keep our eyes on the object of our faith. When we take our eyes off Christ, we sink just as Peter did.

The goal is to lack nothing in our spiritual lives. This is a constant, continuous process of moving forward for the cause of Christ. None of us will reach perfection until we’re with Christ, but that doesn’t mean we stop pursuing growth.

Standing on the Right Foundation

Why is solid teaching so important? Because the church is built on the foundation of the apostles, prophets, and Christ Jesus as the cornerstone. A church cannot grow deeper than the foundation on which it stands.

In our internet age, we must be especially careful. Many voices claim to speak for God, offering interpretations and versions of truth. We need discernment more than ever. The Holy Spirit was given to teach us all things and to help us test every spirit to see whether it is from God.

If you want to grow physically, you must eat real food—not just snacks here and there. Similarly, if you want to grow spiritually, you need substantial time in God’s Word. Five-minute clips from social media won’t sustain you. You need the real nourishment that comes from Scripture.

Love That Overflows

As we understand biblical teaching more deeply, we’ll find an increased love for other people. Sometimes we struggle to love others because we don’t understand why we’re supposed to be doing what we’re called to do.

Love is the essence of Christian faith. Jesus said, “By this will they know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John emphasized this even more strongly: “If someone says ‘I love God' and hates his brother, he is a liar, for he who does not love his brother whom he sees cannot love God whom he does not see.”

Love must start within the church, but it cannot stay there. If we only love people when they come inside our buildings and fail to love those outside the walls, are we truly a loving church?

We're called to love others just as we love ourselves. God loved us so much that He gave His Son for us, who died for us while we were still sinners. How will we demonstrate our love for others?

Hearts Established in Holiness

God desires for you to be set apart, to be different. In today’s society, we often desire to be like everyone else. But God desires that you be like no one else except Him. He has sanctified you, set you apart, made you blameless and holy.

The early church found it awesome to be peculiar, to be different. When people said, "You’re different," they responded, "Yes, that’s good!" Today, when people point out our differences, we often feel uncomfortable. We want to blend in.

But God calls us to internal holiness, not just external appearance. Jesus called those who focused only on outward religion "whitewashed tombs"—appearing clean on the outside but dead on the inside.

How do we maintain this focus? By remembering that Christ Jesus is coming back for all the saints. If we know there's something good and holy coming, if we know there’s something to hope for, then we have direction and purpose.

Will Christ find you faithful when He returns? Will He find you encouraging others, loving well, living blamelessly and holy? Or will He find you doing things you ought not to be doing?

The Foundation of Everything

None of this is possible on our own. We need Christ in our lives. It’s only by His power that we can accomplish holiness. It's only by His power that we can move forward in faith.

A faith that encourages is grounded in the Word of God and desires to grow internally, not just externally. It's faith that compels us to share the gospel, love others, and pray for those around us.

Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." There is only one way to salvation, and that way is through Christ, who came blameless and sinless, shed His blood, and died so that we could have eternal life.

So what kind of faith do you have? Is your faith encouraging others, or is it lacking? If it’s lacking, why? What are you still trying to hang on to? Who are you trying to be like?

Christ came and died so that you could be like Him, lacking nothing spiritually. He gave everything so that we could have a faith that encourages—a faith that lifts up others, produces a good report, shares with the kingdom, and sees the harvest.

May we all pursue a faith that encourages, built on the solid foundation of Christ Jesus, who never changes and who is always able to hold us, no matter how uncertain our steps may feel.