Faith: The Strength Behind Every Strong Man

In this episode of 42 Elite, we step into the second pillar of becoming an elite man: FAITH.
 Not the soft, vague, emotional version the world talks about — but the biblical, battle‑tested, mountain‑moving faith that carries a man through trials, storms, and seasons of uncertainty. 

You’ll learn: 

• Why faith is the foundation of a man’s identity
• How God uses pressure to strengthen your faith
• Why faith is your shield in spiritual warfare
• How faith helps you stand when life hits hard
• The difference between walking by sight and walking by faith
• One challenge that will grow your faith this week

This episode is for the man who wants to walk with God, lead with courage, and live with purpose.
 Faith isn’t a feeling — it’s a decision.
 Let’s build it.

#42Elite
 #FaithPillar
 #MenOfFaith 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome back to 42 Elite, the movement for men who refuse to stay the same. This is where discipline is forged, faith is strengthened, and purpose is awakened. So let's get to work. Today we're going to look into the second pillar of becoming an elite man, and that of faith. If discipline is the foundation of your habits, then faith is the foundation of your identity. Faith isn't optional, it's not emotional, it's not a feeling. But faith is an operating system of a man who walks with God. Scripture says in Hebrews 11 6 that without faith it's impossible to please God. Not difficult, not challenging, but impossible. A man can be disciplined, strong, successful, respected, but without faith, he can't walk in the purpose God's design for him. Faith is how a man stands when life hits hard. You know, everybody listening to this is in one of three places. They're either getting ready to go in a storm, they're in the middle of the storm, or they're just coming out of a storm. Life will hit you with things you didn't see coming, storms that you didn't plan for, battles that you certainly didn't ask for. And in those moments, God's calling you and I to walk differently. Second Corinthians 5 7 says, We walk by faith, not by sight. Because sight, it's limited, it's emotional, and it's shaped by fear, pressure, and circumstances. But faith, faith, that's the anchor. Faith is steady. Faith is how a man keeps moving when nothing else seems to make sense. So faith is what God uses to build strength inside you and me. Some of the hardest seasons of your life weren't punishments, they were actually preparations. James 1, 2 through 4 tells us that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. God tests your faith to strengthen you, to mature you, to develop an endurance in you, to make you a man who doesn't break under the pressure of life. Faith is the muscle God grows through resistance. And faith is your shield in spiritual warfare. Again, every man listening to this is in a battle, whether he wants to admit it or not. And God didn't leave you there unarmed. Ephesians 6 16 says, Take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Faith isn't passive and it's not soft. It's a weapon. A man without faith is exposed. A man with faith is protected. Faith is how God leads you through the wilderness. Every man at one time or next is in a wilderness season, a season where nothing feels clear or easy or even certain. But God uses the wilderness to shape and strengthen a man's heart. Deuteronomy 8.2 says God led Israel through the desert to humble them, to test them in order to know what was in their heart. So the desert isn't where God abandoned you, it's where he develops you. Faith is what carries you through the 42 stops on your way to the promise. Just like in the last episode, I talked to you about my journey going to college, a bigger part of that was our finances. Only one of us was working full-time, and we had gone from approximately thirty thousand dollars of combined income back in the late 70s to roughly $12,000 a year. We had just bought a house, our first child was on the way, it shouldn't have worked. But in that time, God taught me, well, taught both of us exactly what faith was. He called me to go back to school, and it was in faith that I could sit there and pray and ask God to provide for our financial needs. So every week when a bill came in, I'd lay it on the table and I pray, God, this is your bill. We're not doing anything. In the almost eight years it took me to get my five-year degree, we didn't buy each other gifts. We didn't go out to dinner, we didn't have birthday or anniversary or Christmas gifts. We just were trying to survive. But I will tell you that every time there was a need, and it was every month there were needs, especially financial needs, all of a sudden, money would show up. Sometimes from some people, but most of the time, an envelope with two or three hundred dollars in it. Every time there was a need, God provided. I remember one specific case. I was getting ready to leave for a brand new semester. They would let you go one week to school before you had to pay for your classes and your books. And today was the day that I had to pay. I got up that morning and in faith I said, God, you called me to school, you're going to provide. I don't know how you're going to provide. Maybe I'll find a bag with money on it while I'm riding my bike. But I was ready to get on my bike to go to school, and the phone rang. And a couple was on the other line. They said, Listen, my wife and I were having our quiet time, and we felt led to call you and asked, Is there anything that you need today? I said, Yes, I need $750. They said, Come by and pick up a check. It was an amazing time in our lives because it revealed to us that when God calls you to do something and you step out in faith, He'll provide everything financially, emotionally, spiritually, it was probably the greatest time in our lives as far as growing by faith. Well, that was just a sidebar. Let's get back to the rest of this podcast. So, faith is how a man receives strength beyond himself. Your strength will run out, your willpower will run out, even your motivation will run out. But God's strength and his provisions never do. Isaiah 40 31 says, Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. So faith is a connection point between your weakness and God's resources. Faith is how a man overcomes fear. Fear is real. It's human. It's part of our journey. But faith is the decision to trust God more than the threats and the fear. Psalms 56, 3 through 4 says, When I'm afraid, I put my trust in you. Faith doesn't mean you never feel fear. Faith means fear doesn't get the final say. And I know everyone out there has a time that faith is tested and it's hard to pull the trigger. But I can tell you from many years of experience that if God called you to do something, He will provide. And just like in school, every time we had a need, it always came, but it always came at the eleventh hour. It never came in advance. And I think it happened that way so that we would continue to put our faith and trust in Him because that's all we had. So faith is how God moves the impossible. Jesus said in Matthew 17, 20 that faith the size of a mustard seed can move a mountain. God never asks you for perfect faith, He just asks you for real faith. Even small faith is big enough for God to change everything in your life. Faith is how a man lives every day. It isn't just a moment. It isn't just for Sundays. It's not also just for crisis. But faith is a lifestyle that we develop. Something that is our go-to every time that we need it or not. Galatians 2.20 says, The life I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God. Faith is the daily decision to trust God with your steps, your future, your family, your calling, and your identity. I challenge you to start walking by faith. So the challenge for this week, pick one pick one area of your life where you've been relying on what you see or what you know, and choose to trust God instead and see what happens. Not perfectly, but intentionally. Because elite men aren't built by comfort, they're built by faith. Here's four questions I want you to consider for this week. Where in my life am I walking by sight instead of faith? Sight reacts, faith leads. The second question, what trial am I facing right now that God might be using to strengthen me? Pressure reveals what's truly inside in your character. The third question, what fear have I allowed to shape my decisions more than God's promises? As a man of faith, God's given us promises. You either trust them and believe them, or you don't. And the last question, what spiritual attacks have I been trying to fight without the shield of faith? Remember, man without faith is exposed. Well, thanks for listening to 42 Elite. Share this with another man who's on the journey. Remember, faith isn't a feeling, it's a decision. Keep showing up, keep believing. I'll see you in the next next episode. Remember, at the somewhere on these podcasts, there's a place where you can send me your questions or comments. I look forward to hearing from you.