How to Keep Your Faith Alive and Growing

Why is it easier to fuel our faith at retreats and conferences? Can
we have this same fire at home? You can probably reflect on a
certain moment or time period in your life that your faith seemed
to flourish more than it ever has. Usually this happens when we go
on retreats, mission trips, or faith conferences. But along with
these moments of powerful formation comes the decline we experience
when they’re over, and we go back home. Why is that? Retreats offer
us an opportunity to encounter our faith away from the distractions
of the world. They are designed to make faith the center of our
attention, which makes fueling our faith much easier. However, a
lot of us don’t have that environment when we go home, and it can
be really difficult to continue to keep that fire alive, especially
when we live in a world that is constantly trying to extinguish it.
It comes down to our personal decisions, and how we choose to live.
If we know that avoiding certain distractions, relationships, or
environments help us grow closer to God, then it’s up to us to make
those changes. It’s much easier to bring someone down than to lift
someone up. The world won’t bring us into a deeper relationship
with Christ—we have to make those choices ourselves. Now, this
might mean that we have to say goodbye to some aspects of our life,
or even some people. It’s important to approach all these decisions
with prayer and guidance from the Lord. He knows what you need
better than anyone else in your life, so seek council knowing he
will only allow what’s best for you in your path towards heaven.
Try asking the Lord each day how you can become closer to him, and
seek out ways to let your faith breath.