{"id":5865,"date":"2017-01-06T01:01:00","date_gmt":"2017-01-06T04:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/noeliafernandez.net\/2017-01-06-en\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T12:53:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T15:53:19","slug":"2017-01-06-en","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/noeliafernandez.net\/en\/2017-01-06-en\/","title":{"rendered":"Guard Your Faith as Your Most Precious Treasure"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n

Translation from Spanish<\/a><\/p>\n\n

In my walk as I follow Jesus, I\u2019ve gone through many tests of faith. Some have been lighter; others have been truly intense, the kind where you have to move forward almost blindly, step by step, without knowing what\u2019s ahead.<\/p>\n\n

It\u2019s as if the Lord is leading and guiding you along a path where you don\u2019t know where you\u2019re headed.<\/p>\n\n

This is normal and necessary, and it\u2019s usually a good sign, because the Lord will test our faith.<\/p>\n\n

It\u2019s very easy to show God that we trust Him when everything is going well, but He will bring us to a point where He will test our faith by putting us in situations where things won\u2019t seem right to us.<\/p>\n

\n

[1 Peter 1:7<\/a>] That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

As we move along that path where God asks us to walk blindly, without fully understanding the process of faith, He teaches us what faith really means and what it means to walk by faith.<\/p>\n\n

Faith is knowing that something exists or will manifest, even though we don\u2019t see it yet.<\/p>\n\n

Walking by faith is walking in the spirit, not in the physical realm. It\u2019s not about seeing what\u2019s on our path, but trusting in what God promises us in the spirit, which is invisible. That\u2019s faith.<\/p>\n\n

There will be moments, and in fact I\u2019m experiencing this in my own life, when God will ask you to take a very big step, and He won\u2019t give you many details.<\/p>\n\n

He may tell you, \u201cYou have to do this task,\u201d or \u201cYou have to go to a certain place,\u201d and you\u2019ll be left thinking, \u201cBut how, Lord? Where to? When? What will happen afterward? How will I get by? What will we do? How will all this unfold? What\u2019s the purpose?\u201d And God\u2019s answer will be, \u201cSimply trust Me and obey Me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

These great tests of faith are common and necessary, and they will come several times throughout a Christian\u2019s life, at different levels.<\/p>\n\n

God will test us in many ways to see if we truly trust Him. He will test us to see if we really listen to Him and obey, even when we can\u2019t see beyond the first step He asks of us, because when He entrusts us with a great task, He guides us progressively, step by step.<\/p>\n\n

He may tell you, \u201cYou have to go to a certain place,\u201d and you will ask yourself, \u201cHow will I work? What will I do? Where will I get the resources? What for? What is my calling in that place?\u201d And He will answer, \u201cThe first step is to go there. I want to see if you first respond to the call I am giving you, and then I will tell you where the path goes from there. But you have to take hold of My hand with blind faith, trusting that I will guide you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

God doesn\u2019t hand you the whole instruction manual all at once, but shows it to you page by page. First you have to read the first page and do what it says before you can move on to the next. God will give you the instructions for the second step only after you\u2019ve trusted Him and taken the first.<\/p>\n\n

For many Christians, the longer they\u2019ve been following Jesus, the harder it becomes for them to walk by faith. I see that many born-again Christians reach a point in their lives where they become stuck.<\/p>\n\n

God calls them to do something important that they don\u2019t feel sure about, or to do something out of the ordinary that takes them out of their comfort zone, or to give something up, and that\u2019s where it becomes very hard for them to take that step of faith.<\/p>\n\n

So inwardly they say, \u201cI\u2019m already saved, I pray every day, I read the Bible, I\u2019m active with God, and that\u2019s all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

But Jesus says in the Bible, \u201cMy Father is working until now, and I am working.\u201d God is very dynamic and diverse. He likes variety and change, and He is working all the time.<\/p>\n\n

When someone stays in one place, doing the same thing for a long time, a moment will come when God will pull that person out of that comfort zone, because there\u2019s no other way to learn. I see that many find it hard to take that leap of faith, especially when they\u2019ve been following Jesus for many years.<\/p>\n\n

When they see someone take that leap of faith, someone who responds to God without having anything certain, they usually say, \u201cYou should look for something more secure. Maybe what you heard didn\u2019t come from God. Why don\u2019t you find something in the meantime? Why don\u2019t you make a transition while God confirms whether what you heard really was from Him?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

And that person replies, \u201cI clearly heard God ask me to do this. I\u2019ve already asked God, I\u2019ve already sought confirmation, I\u2019ve prayed, I\u2019ve fasted, and I keep receiving the same answer. In my heart and mind, I know this is what He\u2019s asking me to do, even if it seems like the craziest thing in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Some believers have a hard time hearing this, because it\u2019s as if something that had been stuck inside them starts to move. A person with great faith has a tremendous influence on someone who had been standing still and whose faith had stayed at a certain level.<\/p>\n\n

The Bible tells us that there are different measures of faith, and it also teaches us that we should ask for more faith. If we\u2019re supposed to ask for more faith, that means faith can vary from one person to another.<\/p>\n\n

Lately I\u2019ve been living through this situation, and I\u2019ve had to say, \u201cI\u2019m doing this because I know God is asking me to do it. I\u2019m sure, and I will wait patiently until God fulfills His promise. I will pray, I will fast, and I won\u2019t take another path, because He\u2019s telling me to go to the right, not to the left.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Fear plays a very powerful role in these situations and tries to tear down faith, both mine and other people\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n

Some believers feel deeply unsettled by this kind of great faith that says, \u201cI don\u2019t care what happens. I will do what He tells me, even if I have no certainty, even if I don\u2019t have the full manual, and even if I don\u2019t have the slightest idea what I\u2019m doing. If He asks me to do something, I will do it, because I have faith and I trust Him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

There are believers who insist, \u201cBut maybe you should do the other thing. And why don\u2019t you take the path to the left until He fulfills what He promised on the right?\u201d And I feel that some of them don\u2019t do it intentionally.<\/p>\n\n

But that\u2019s not faith. If I take the path to the left, thinking God will fulfill what He promised me on the path to the right, He won\u2019t do it, because I\u2019m investing my time and energy somewhere else, moving away from His will.<\/p>\n\n

He will see that I truly don\u2019t have the faith to wait for what He promised me or to do what He asked me to do, whether it\u2019s something small or great.<\/p>\n\n

In these situations, you feel as if those people are stealing your faith, even if that\u2019s not their intention. They are like vampires trying to suck your blood.<\/p>\n\n

When I myself went through that recently, I was thinking and meditating, and I said, \u201cNo, I\u2019m not going to let them steal my faith, because faith is more precious than gold. Faith is the greatest thing a Christian can have.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

We have an obligation to work day by day to make our faith grow. If I let the fear and frustration of others affect my faith, I won\u2019t do my Father\u2019s will. So you have to make the decision and say:<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThank you for your help. I really appreciate that you want to help me and that you\u2019re concerned about me, but I have complete faith that God will fulfill what He\u2019s telling me, because He is powerful, and everything He says comes to pass. And if I\u2019m sure that what I heard came from Him, because I\u2019ve been praying about it for a long time, I\u2019ve even fasted, and the answer is the same and keeps growing stronger, then I will do that, and I won\u2019t go somewhere else, as if just killing time while what God told me comes to pass.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

The Bible says that without faith it\u2019s impossible to please God. In the life of someone who truly follows Jesus, every verse comes alive. But in the life of someone who reads the Bible and doesn\u2019t apply it, nothing happens. It\u2019s as if the Word is dead to him.<\/p>\n\n

When you truly follow Jesus, He is your Shepherd, and He tells you, \u201cI am calling you to go this way, My sheep. You belong to My flock, and I am your Shepherd. No one else is your shepherd.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

God will test your faith, because that\u2019s the only way it grows.<\/p>\n\n

If you ask the Lord for more faith, as I do every day, He will tell you, \u201cI will give you more faith, but you have to show Me that you are worthy of receiving more faith from Me,\u201d and He will most likely put you in difficult situations where you will have to show the measure of faith that can fit in your vessel.<\/p>\n\n

You will go through many tests. God may say to you, \u201cCarry out this task, please,\u201d and He tests you to see whether you are capable of doing it. And those tests always go beyond what you think you can do.<\/p>\n\n

God may say to you, \u201cI will take you a little beyond the limits of your mind, beyond what you think you can reach.\u201d Then you may say, \u201cBut I\u2019ve never done that. I\u2019ve never been there, and I don\u2019t know how to do that, Lord,\u201d and protest at first, \u201cBut how do You want me to do it? I don\u2019t feel capable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Yet God doesn\u2019t want you to do it on your own; He wants to do it through you, through your faith. But you have to be worthy.<\/p>\n\n

God will put you in these kinds of situations, and you will begin to walk down a path full of obstacles and stones.<\/p>\n\n

Sometimes those stones aren\u2019t situations or things, but people around you, sometimes even believers. And it\u2019s up to you what you do with those stones, what you do with those faith vampires who want to bring you down and steal the most precious thing you have.<\/p>\n\n

As for me, I say to the Lord, \u201cNo, Lord, this is mine, and it\u2019s the most precious thing I have. No one will touch it, and no one will steal it from me. No matter what happens, I will trust in You, I will wait on You, and I will not take any path other than the one You told me to take, because You are holy and mighty, because You are omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, Lord. Who else could know what\u2019s best for me if not You?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

This was the message I wanted to leave you with today. You have to defend your faith. You have to be tenacious and absolutely convinced, because we have to wait for what we do not see.<\/p>\n\n

God tells us, \u201cI have this prepared for you,\u201d and it still hasn\u2019t materialized, but in the spirit the command has already been sent, and all that remains is for it to manifest in the material realm. But what makes it manifest in the material realm is your faith.<\/p>\n\n

Lord, give all of us the strength to trust in You. Give us more faith. We need very strong faith, Lord. We want to please You with a good measure of faith, Lord.<\/p>\n\n

If we are worthy, equip us with the shield of faith, because we know that through faith we can win battles, we can defend ourselves against every dart of the evil one, and we can survive any situation and any trial.<\/p>\n\n

Faith is everything to us, Lord. Give us more. Give us that precious treasure, Lord. We long for it and we want it.<\/p>\n\n

In the name of Jesus, Lord, I ask You to increase the faith of my fellow believers who are listening to this, and help us learn together to defend the most precious thing we have, which is more precious than gold.<\/p>\n\n

Thank You, Lord, for everything. Thank You for these great trials. Thank You for these great commissions You give us, Lord, because when You give us something very great to do, that means You are working in us.<\/p>\n\n

And when everything is stable and nothing moves for a long time, that\u2019s when we have to begin asking ourselves, \u201cWhat\u2019s happening? Am I doing something wrong, Lord? Because nothing is moving. I feel stuck, sitting still, bored, like I already know everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Lord, I thank You for leading us down unexpected paths, for broadening the boundaries of our minds and teaching us spiritual things, so we can be fully equipped. I know that we are Your children and that You won\u2019t stop perfecting us until the end, Lord. The Bible says that we will be perfected until the end, and we want to be as much like Jesus as possible, Lord.<\/p>\n\n

Thank You so much for teaching me in my own life and for allowing me to share all this with others for their edification. Thank You very much, Lord, in the name of Jesus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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