What is your FQ? You have an intelligence quotient (IQ). You also have an emotional quotient (EQ). Some folks are emotionally smart, in addition to being very intelligent.  

For years we’ve heard that women are more emotionally intelligent than men, we’ll save that discussion for another day. Here’s a neat article, if you want to learn more about IQ and EQ. https://www.ctnewsonline.com/news/faith/article_36597602-cfe5-11eb-b35b-5f468e1b3832.html 

While these are important quotients, a good case can be made that your FQ is more essential than either of these to live well in these challenging times.

Today, I want to talk with you about your FQ (faith quotient).

I have a question for you about your FQ; how is it doing?  How is it holding up with all that’s going on?  

Sometimes my faith quotient isn’t what it ought to be. Honestly, I find it challenging to stay focused on God and His ultimate plan for my life because of all the distractions in my personal life and our society. It’s easy to become discouraged and lose our enthusiasm for life when we allow ourselves to listen to all the negativity and divisive rhetoric going on around us. And I get “down” when my attention gets diverted from God. My FQ starts to sag.

God is very patient with me when I go through these times of doubt, discouragement, and fear. When I read stories about the struggles of Abraham, Elijah, Moses, David, and many other great biblical personalities I am encouraged to know that we are all in the process of growing in the faith. We are not always where we want to be in our FQ, but God brings us through these tough times, restores us, and helps us learn to trust him more.  

Abraham’s faith quotient must have been maxed out when he acted on God’s challenge to sacrifice his son Isaac. God rewarded his faith by providing a substitute sacrifice in a ram that was entangled in a nearby bush.  But, Abraham’s faith was not always this strong, was It? The Genesis account reminds us of his sagging faith when years passed and God had not fulfilled his promise to give him and Sarah a son.

There is only one person who has ever lived a completely faithful life. Hebrews 12:2 tells us that Jesus is the perfect example of faith in God. We are to ” fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfect example of faith.” Jesus never wavered from God’s will. That complete trust in the faith resulted in the cross.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for being faithful even to the point of giving up your life on the cross!

There are lots of things to challenge our FQ. Sometimes my mind escapes to a small, secluded cabin in the wilderness where I cannot hear politicians’ idiocy, and where stories of killings, global warming, natural disasters, and problems of inflation are not allowed.

While a short break from our daily routines can be helpful, I come back to reality and remember that we are “salt and light” in a world that seems to be “going to hell.” Many things in our society are heading in the wrong direction. So, back to my question, “How is your faith holding up?

Maintaining our faith is the key to an overall positive, hopeful outlook in life. Keeping the faith is also crucial if you want to please God. “Without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is (exists) and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6.

So, what is your outlook on life today? Are you able to recognize the reality of some nasty stuff going on but at the same time not allow your spirit to be dismayed and discouraged by it? Or, is your attitude determined by your challenges and the dysfunction Satan is instigating in our world?

There is a word from God in Hebrews 10: 35-36 that we need to give attention to concerning the challenge to our faith, “Do not throw away your confidence, which has great reward. For you need to endure, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.”

This is a stern word, a warning not to allow ourselves to become discouraged and overcome by hard times. God knows what He’s doing. He loves you and has a plan He wants to accomplish in your life. Trust Him, focus on Him and not your problems and He will see you through whatever you are dealing with. 

Are you drifting away from God? Are you allowing the problems and troubles of life to defeat you? Or are you in a good, easy flow that tempts you to forget about God’s faithfulness in times past? In either case, you have your focus on the wrong thing or things. Remember the former days when you knew God was real and you walked daily by faith. God is faithful and will do for you what He has promised.

Your key to victorious living in a crazy world is to put your trust in a God who is greater than any problem or challenge you face. He is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, whom He raised from the dead.

Your faith in what Jesus has done through his death, burial, and resurrection is what has saved you. You have a Living Savior; put the focus of your faith on Him, and allow Him to live out His life in you.

 

Is there something that God is telling you to do? If so, ask Him to give you the strength and courage to do it and do it. When this happens, you will see your FQ increase.

Here is a short devotional that reminds us of three ways to increase our faith quotient. https://www.ibelieve.com/faith/three-ways-to-increase-your-faith.html