That we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head-Christ.     Ephesians 4:14 NKJV

We are told in 2 Corinthians 5:7 that we walk by faith, not by sight. We must and strong and steadfast in our faith. When we fail to do so, we have fickle faith.  This is what our Scripture passage means by being tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine and being deceived by trickery and cunning.

Fickle faith changes like the wind. I want you to take a moment and think about being in a relationship with a fickle person. We have probably all be in one at one time of the other. Hopefully, it was just a friendship and not a marriage. We’ve all dealt with these people who want to be our best friend. We help them through a crisis, and they convince us that they are a true friend and they will be here for the long haul. Then, suddenly when we have a problem they can’t be found. They have moved on. They just don’t have time for us now.

Many people are the same way with God. They find themselves in crisis. They pray. God works it out for them and they move on. They forget to honor God in the things they say and do. They have better things to do than to meet with fellow Christians and worship Him. They’d rather spend their time enjoying the wonderful blessings He has provided for them. That’s fickle faith.

We are told in Hebrews 11:6 that it is impossible to please God without faith. This is real, steadfast faith. This the kind of faith that helps us to stand strong even when God’s answer is no. It helps us to remain steadfast trusting that God knows what is best for us.

We remain faithful to God when the devil is tempting us. We remain faithful to God when times are hard, and the enemy comes against us. To have this kind of faith, we must surrender to God. We must truly believe that He loves us and wants what is best for us. We must believe that He will work all things for our good as long as we love Him and called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).

Take a minute to examine your faith. Is it fickle or is it steadfast? Only steadfast faith pleases God. He calls us to be strong and courageous (Joshua 1:9). We are to take up the shield of faith in all circumstances (Ephesians 6:16). And in 1 Peter 5:9 we are to resist the devil and stand firm in our faith knowing that the same kind of suffering is being experienced by Christians throughout the world.

And finally, James 1:12 tells us blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

When we trust in the Lord, we grow in faith. We don’t just automatically have this awesome steadfast faith, we grow into it as we endure trials. This is why James said we should rejoice in trials knowing they produce endurance and steadfastness. Faith is a process. And we are all works in progress. There will be times when our faith falters, but as soon as we realize this is happening, we need to get it together. We need to pray and trust in Him. We should recite Romans 8:28 and make it our mantra knowing even in the hard times, God is working all things out for our good and His glory.

Each trial we face is an opportunity for growth or an opportunity for failure. Fickle faith will fail us every time. Remain steadfast and trust in the Lord. He won’t let you down.

Have a great day!