5 Questions to Gauge the Health of Your Faith

Is Your Faith a Source of Life to Others?

How do you know if your faith is healthy or not? It’s not as if you can stick a thermometer in your soul. But Jesus gave us a way to measure the faith within us — by evaluating what flows out of us.

In John 7:37-40, we find this account of Jesus’ teaching:

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive,for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

In the days of Christ, even more so than in Western civilization today, water was the stuff of life. If you didn’t have it, life came to a halt.

Being thirsty was a far more common experience then. And yet each of us knows what it feels like to thirst for fulfillment and true soul satisfaction.

Jesus chose this water imagery to demonstrate not only the fulfillment only he can give through His Spirit, but also our own role in spreading the life-giving message of faith. 

Those whose faith is focused on Christ, will have rivers of living water flowing out of their hearts and on to those around them.

5 Questions to Gauge the Health of Your Faith

  • When your life overflows onto those around you, does it drown them or refresh them? Rivers of living water bring healing and hope, not danger and depression. Which do you bring when you walk into a room?
  • Are you seen as a source of life by those who thirst for something more? We live in a dry and thirsty land. The recent Supreme Court decision on marriage means we’re going to have even more hurting people in need of the hope and healing only Christ can give. Will they identify you as a source of life because of how you live out your faith?
  • How thirsty are you? Jesus said elsewhere that those who hunger and thirst after righteousness will be filled. But if you aren’t thirsty for greater faith — or are too depleted yourself — how can you have anything to give to others?
  • Does the life-giving Spirit flow through you or just stop with you? Perhaps you are enjoying a relaxing dip in God’s goodness. But what are you doing to invite others to be refreshed in Him?
  • Does your story generously reveal God’s glory? Peter tells us we have become partakers of the divine nature through our faith in Christ and His work within us. But does your story show it?

Question: Which of these questions resonates most with you? What other questions should we be asking to gauge how well our faith refreshes others? Share your thoughts by clicking here.