Do you make New Year’s Resolutions? However you respond, a lot of us are thinking about how to strengthen our faith in 2019.

But when it comes to that word “faith,” we can easily miss something important.

A lot of us say we have faith. We go about our days thinking that some people have a LITTLE bit of faith and some people have a LOT. I get where that comes from. It’s the idea that some people are relatively green in their journey with Jesus and some are more mature.

But at a conference I was at recently, theologian Don Carson pointed out that the word faith is not really used like that in the New Testament.

Faith is faith in someone. In other words, if faith is something you have, it is focusing not on what you can do, but on what God can do.

In Matthew 17:20-21 Jesus rebukes his disciples for not being able to perform an exorcism. He says, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

By saying this, he’s reminding the disciples that it’s not the “size” of their faith that matters, but the size of the one in whom they have faith.

What challenges do you face in 2019? A big life decision? A new chapter? A personal renovation project?

God is truthful and trustworthy. God is loving and loyal. God is willing and able.

As you stride into what can be your most meaningful year yet, remember that faith is focusing not on what you can do, but on what God can do.

By Matthew Ruttan