What it takes

I was thinking about faith today and how somebody knows that they actually have faith in God. How does your faith grow? Stuff like that. Most of my thoughts dealt with how your faith actually grows. Is it through constant tests and trials? Is it through constant prayer? Us telling God at every meal that we trust him? I honestly don't know, but what I THINK I know is that we grow in faith through all of that. We grow when we concentrate on our mutual relationship with the Lord. Its about keeping that connection we have established...not hanging up on our end of the phone. In our trials, we can't just go through them...thats not the point. The point is where are you after you make it through? Are you lower than you were before? Are you exactly the same? Or have you grown? If you haven't grown then you've failed. We go through trials to learn about ourselves, to push our faith so far that it MUST grow. If you come out on the other end stronger...nothing can take you down. It's not one of those things where God hands you a test, you pass, then you are done! Ya you graduated Gods class and now you can live your life. Nah thats bull. More tests come, so that we may improve, to better serve the Lord. We are stubborn poeple! Realize this! Sometimes tests are the only way that God can get us to SHUTUP about how horrible our lives are so that we can listen to Him and let him step into our lives. Sometimes people have to hit rock bottom first. Then they can grow, it's like restarting your life. You must be stripped of everything first, until you stand with nothing, you stand alone. Then you have a choice...try rebuilding with the exact same blocks that crumbled out from under you, or ask God to help you rebuild in the way that is right according to him. Then you will stand above everything that is wrong in this world, stronger than any challenge you've faced and ever will face. You'll no longer be standing alone.