Faith Is Built on Life Experiences

Deanna Bartalini suggests writing out your faith story as a way to increase your faith in God.

I think the most well-known verse on faith from scripture is Hebrews 11:1:

Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.

The rest of the chapter goes on to recount how faith was evident in the lives of many in the Old Testament. Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses and Rahab, are a few figures Saint Paul tells us about. Each has a distinct and important faith story. So important it is a part of Scripture and Salvation History.  

We too have a faith story. Have you ever thought about your story? Often when we begin a new year, we spend time looking forward, setting goals, and making plans of how to go about our life. And that can be a good and fruitful endeavor. How often, though, do we look back at our past to help it form our future? 

Your faith story 

In the next month, take some time to consider your faith history. The point of doing this is twofold. One, to look at our success and failures with God. When we look at life with Him, we are less likely to beat ourselves up and see all that happened, not only the negative things. Second, as we write our events, we see where God’s hand helped us, guided us, and led us to and through our life circumstances. 

Our faith helps us to see God’s hand and will in our life. But we must be attuned to it. The first time you look back, look as far back as you can remember. Beginning in childhood, continue through your adolescence, and up to the present. This will take some time; it’s not meant to be done in an hour. Nor do you need to recall every life event. Ask the Holy Spirit to bring to mind the times that will help you see how God worked in your life. These can be both positive and negative situations.

Many times in my life, I have made mistakes because I did not have faith in God. Other times, I could not believe that I or the situation were important enough for God to pay attention. I put fear, my own will, a scarcity mentality, or the belief it was all up to me to fix the problem in the place of faith. Yet God did not hold that against me when I turned to Him.  

When I look back on this story of my life, I see how God has been there repeatedly — forever, really. It is a huge help and reminder that He is always with me when life becomes difficult. This is an exercise meant to reveal how God loves you, as an individual. He loves us all, that is true, but He reaches each of us in different ways.  

Scripture suggestions  

It can be helpful to read selections from Scripture before thinking about your faith life. Here are a few passages about faith: Psalm 25:1-22, Hebrews 11, Matthew 8:5-13. 

I hope you come to know all that God has done for you and your faith increases.  

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Copyright 2025 Deanna Bartalini
Images: Canva