Lesson for January 18, 2026

Problem-Solving Devices

#3 – Faith-Rest Technique

Faith in its verb form means “to believe” and must have a subject and an object. In salvation, the subject is anyone and the object is Jesus Christ. (John 3:16) In the Christian life, the subject is believers, and the object is the Word of God.

(II Timothy 2:15) Faith is effective in a believer’s life only if faith has the right object. Faith is thinking. The content of what you’re thinking is what determines faith’s effectiveness in your life. There is no limit to the amount of faith that a believer can have, but doctrinal content in the soul is what determines the strength of your faith.

Faith is developed by the study and application of God’s Word under the filling of God the Holy Spirit. Faith is developed by means of growth when a believer begins to consistently use the Problem-Solving Devices. Faith can also be developed through suffering. (Romans 10:17; Hebrews 4:1-3, 12:2; Galatians 5:22-23; I Peter 1:7-9; I John 5:1-5)

The principle of Faith-Rest is from God, Who is perfect. Therefore, the Faith-Rest Technique is perfect. No human deed or work can be added to a perfect provision from God. A believer must cease from human good and enter into a rest where they do no work; the Holy Spirit does the work. The requirement, therefore, for believers is faith, not human works. Faith is the absence of any human merit, which means that in and of itself, faith has no value or worth. The value or worth is in the object of faith. The object of faith for believers should always be God and His Word.

Faith-Rest is knowing, believing, and applying the promises, the principles, and the doctrines of the Word of God. (Isaiah 33:6) There are over 7,000 promises in the Bible for believers. These promises do us no good unless we mix them with our faith and apply them to our situation. (Hebrews 4:2)

Claiming the promises of God eliminates mental attitude sins such as fear, worry and anxiety, which cut off Divine Viewpoint Thinking. Faith-Rest will restore Divine Viewpoint Thinking and stabilize a believer in times of pressure and adversity. Faith-Rest results in a relaxed mental attitude. (Matthew 11:28-30)

Satan is going to use everything at his disposal, which includes his world system and Human Viewpoint Thinking, to distract you from your spiritual life. Remember that the spiritual life is a battle. When you spend time worrying, being upset, and disgruntled about life, you’re lining up with Satan’s program, and you are losing the battle. Peter warns us about the strategy of Satan.

Casting means “to make a deposit.” In the case of believers, they are to deposit “all of their cares” or literally “all of their anxieties” on the Lord. In other words, give all your worries to God and leave them there. This means that no one is strong enough to carry their own worries. So, stop trying to do the impossible and instead use God’s system, Faith-Rest.

The mechanics of the Faith-Rest Technique means that you have made a resolve – a decision as to future action. This means that you have predetermined in your mind what course of action you will take when a problem arises. The Faith-Rest Technique is a versatile technique for overcoming any difficult situation, any problem, or any disaster. By faith a believer applies doctrine logically while resting in the promises of God. By reaching a doctrinal rationale a believer is re-explaining to themselves the basic concepts of doctrine that pertain to their relationship with God. This will be necessary in a crisis because emotion will normally take over and suppress proper thinking. You must take deliberate steps to reestablish the filling of the Holy Spirit in your soul.

Here is how the Faith-Rest Technique works:

1. A believer claims a promise. A promise is a guarantee from God that expresses His essence (sovereignty, righteousness, justice, love, eternal life, omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, immutability, and veracity). When you lay hold of one of these promises you are able to bring emotion under control, which allows you to think. Before, you were in a state of panic, but now you have peace. This, however, is only the beginning of the drill. Now you must begin to think. (Romans 8:28 – God is working all things together for my good, if I am an advancing believer.)
2. A believer applies doctrinal rationale. The application of Bible doctrine requires a believer to recall certain doctrines that have been stored in their soul. A rationale is the rational basis for something or an explanation of reasons or principles. It is at this time that a believer explains again to themselves the doctrine which is pertinent to the situation. (Romans 8:29-30 – God has a pre-designed plan for my life.)
3. A believer reaches a doctrinal conclusion. This means that a believer is able to take control of the situation. By asking and answering certain questions pertaining to their spiritual life, a believer takes control and evaluates the circumstances. They can now make good decisions from a position of strength and take action using the good judgment and the wisdom from Bible doctrine stored in their soul. (Romans 8:31-35 – If God is for me, who can be successful against me or separate me from the love of Christ? Therefore, I can take control using the power of the Holy Spirit to enable me.)

We cannot apply what we do not know. Therefore, we need to be consistent in our study of God’s Word for the purpose of spiritual growth. Spiritual growth means learning to use the Word of God stored in our souls to combat and to control our sin nature and the influences of Satan’s world system. Since fear is a sin, the first step to recovery from fear is the utilization of I John 1:9. By naming “fear” as our sin, we are forgiven, back in fellowship with God, and filled with the Holy Spirit. Now we are in a position to use the Faith-Rest Technique.

The best illustration of the Faith-Rest Technique is Romans 8:28-32. We can easily follow the progression from claiming a promise, to application, to reaching a conclusion. Romans 8:28 says, “We know that God works all things together for good for those who love Him, for those who are the called ones according to a predetermined plan.” This is the Biblical promise to those who are maturing in their faith (fulfilling God’s plan for their life). This promise is guaranteed by God. When we claim this promise, it can reduce a very complicated situation into a very simple one. When we claim this promise (that God is working all things together for our good), fear is brought under control because we are now thinking, not emoting.

Once thinking is resumed, we can move on to step two, application. A doctrinal rationale can be any doctrinal truth that you have learned and stored in your memory center. In our passage the doctrinal rationale is a series of five related doctrines.

1. Foreknowledge – God’s awareness of all the assets that He prepared for believers in eternity past. This assures us that God was thinking about each of us in eternity past.
2. Predestination – God predesigned a plan for us in eternity-past. That plan calls for us to be set apart unto God in time and in eternity.
3. Election – God chose each Church Age believer to be spiritual royalty. Since Jesus Christ was elected, we share in His election because of our union with Him.
4. Justification – God declares a believer to be righteous. God actually imputes His righteousness to each believer, setting up the potential for divine blessing in time and in eternity.
5. Glorification – God will give each believer a glorified body, and He will give eternal rewards to those who fulfill His plan on earth.

These five doctrines in Romans 8:29-30 outline God’s plan for every believer of this age. By recalling these doctrines, a believer can remember their place in God’s overall plan, which is another step in driving out fear.

Finally, in Romans 8:31-32, a believer is able to reach a doctrinal conclusion. This passage says, “To what conclusion are we forced? If God be for us, who can be successful against us? He Who spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up in behalf of us all, how will He not with Him freely give us all things?”

Reaching the doctrinal conclusion, “that God is for us,” allows us to retake control of our situation and restores our confidence in God and in our ability to make good decisions. If the problem is too overwhelming, beyond our ability to solve, we are still able to handle it by placing ourselves in the mighty hand of God and trusting Him for the solution. Exodus 14:13, “Then Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid! Take your stand [be firm and confident and undismayed] and see the salvation (deliverance) of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today; for those Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see again.”

Utilization of this technique restores the most important ability God has given us: the ability to think. This technique does not have to be a mechanical, “step one, two, three,” but can be if the situation demands it. The key is to stop fear in its tracks and restore the thinking process by using the Faith-Rest Technique.