What is Gritty Faith

WHAT IS GRITTY FAITH?  The toughest faith possible.  

I can only imagine what Daniel was doing in the Lion's Den and what Paul was thinking about while being stoned. 

Job as he sits on a garbage heap, scraping his sores. 

Mary as she faces public humiliation for being an unwed mother.

They had what I call GRITTY FAITH.  

What is GRITTY FAITH?  A tougher-than-average faith that isn't dependent on results but determined to have a lifelong personal relationship with Christ.  

One day, out of frustration, I was about to throw in the towel and quit.  Believe me, the desire was very, very strong.  

I expressed my frustration to a friend who recommended a book entitled GRIT by Angela Duckworth. But I didn't read it at first. I discovered that Angela was a psychologist and that this was a book about her research into GRIT. Booorrrring. But eventually, my curiosity got the best of me, and so I decided to give it a chance.  

I'm glad I did.  

Her research could tell you, with some certainty, whether or not you would succeed based on your level of grit. I wondered if this could be applied to one's faith and future as a follower of Jesus.  

You will never thrive as a follower of Jesus until you fully embrace the faith that He gives you. This is why I believe so many people are deconstructing their faith. They have been running something for so long that it has left them feeling empty. They were told what to believe, but they didn't embrace it as their own.  

Duckworth defines grit as passion and perseverance for long-term goals. (1)  

I consider the depth of my passion and my determination to persevere to be very Biblical qualities that I should exhibit. They are relevant to my faith in Christ   . Thus, I quickly determined that while I loved Jesus and was determined to worship Him with my life, I didn't have the grit to finish what God was doing in and through my life. 

I was quitting on myself.  

I'm not saying that you don't have faith. However, your future and success as a follower of Christ may require a level of faith that you may not be familiar with.

Most people equate faith with belief.  They say, "I believe in God." and call that faith.  Well, it's a good start, but there's more, a lot more.  

The Old Testament Hebrew word for faith is Emunah. Faith isn't just about believing in your mind but having a strong and steady trust in God. It means being reliable, loyal and committed to Him. In this way, faith is about standing firm in God's truth and staying faithful to Him, especially through your actions.

Jews were to be faithful to the teachings and commands of the Law of Moses.  

The New Testament Greek word for faith is pistis. It means having a strong belief that leads to action. This kind of faith is more than just agreeing with something in your mind—it also involves a deep trust in God. A person with pistis fully relies on God, not just in thoughts but in how they live. It's an active trust that shows up in obedience and daily dependence on Him.

Christians are to be faithful to the teachings and commands of Jesus. 

So faith isn't just a belief; it is a lifelong commitment. And that's why you'll need some grit.  

I was called into ministry at the age of 15.  Serving is all I have known for my whole life. I went to Bible College, one of the best colleges in the country then, with dreams of going into the world and leading people to give their lives to Jesus.  To help them discover and experience the Gospel for themselves.  I assumed everyone else in the ministry had that vision, too.  But I was wrong.  In short, they were abusive.  My wife and I were a means to an end for them.  We were not hired to serve, we were their to perform.  Sing well on the platform, get big numbers in youth groups, make sure the kids were happy in their classes, design pretty sanctuary's for people to enjoy, build awesome sound systems, make sure the church van was always gassed up, and all for meager wages, and barely tolerable living conditions.

Believe me, we made it work.  But at one point, my wife and I were on the verge of divorce; I was gritting my teeth at night, my wife was waking up screaming from night terrors, and I was working 7 days a week, usually around 80 hours a week or more, and weighed in at a paltry 110 pounds.  I couldn't stand up in a stiff breeze without being knocked down.  

I needed to find some grit.  I prayed to my knees and said, "God, I'm listening."  Then I shut up.  For the next few minutes, he told me what to do.  Here is the interesting thing about all of it.  Those steps were to save my marriage; they had nothing to do with ministry.  

That's where I learned my first lesson about GRITTY FAITH.  Be gritty about what God is gritty about.  There was nothing that was going to keep me from getting fired, and that happened a short time later.  But our marriage was moving in the right direction, and as soon as it was - so were we.  By God's hand, a church took the risk of hiring me as a youth pastor, and we moved on.  

But did our lives get any easier? No. We were living in a converted Airstream trailer under some high-voltage power lines from the local nuclear power plant. We were paid poorly, but by the grace of God, we succeeded. Again, we performed, but this time, we focused on disciplining teens and leading people to worship. The church doubled, and it was busting at the seams. The finances were never better, and we were the hottest thing in town.  

One day, while praying in my office, God spoke to me and said, "In 30, you will be a senior pastor."  I nearly passed out.  There were a few minutes of me asking God to clarify, which He didn't, and to confirm, which He repeated the same sentence.  My wife and I started to prepare to move; we were polishing up our resume and preparing to move on - then it happened.  

The pastor calls one Sunday morning.  His marriage is in big trouble.  He is taking a 30-day sabbatical.  I'm the senior pastor now.  I would have rather been punched in the gut by Mike Tyson than have had to walk up to the congregation that morning.  But what other choice was there?  Run?  Where?  

This is where I learned the second lesson about GRITTY FAITH.  Faithfulness is more important than success.  The reason why God brought me to that church was for those 30 days.  The church didn't split or fall apart during that time.  But I could see the handwriting on the wall.  His lack of faithfulness was going to destroy everything.  

Let me put this in perspective for you. At that time, the pastor was getting paid the equivalent of $11,000 a week (in 2025 money), and I was getting paid $600 a week (in 2025 money). Then, the board griped about me getting a $ 10-a-week raise. I'm not angry about it; I never was. Disappointed, yes, but I realized that faithfulness was better than success. I would rather be faithful to God than successful to others. 

It wasn't long before I had to leave, more or less on my terms, and I took a senior pastorate in South Florida.  This is where I learned my third lesson.  

My first pastorate didn't start too well.  They hired me and then moved the church to another city without my knowledge.  We went from a strip shopping center to a 10-story building—a permanent sanctuary to a temporary one.  We couldn't grow the first year because a deacon in the church approached all the guests with their multi-level marketing business.  The Treasurer was stealing money from the offerings.  Multiple offenses, problems, and sins were presenting themselves regularly.  After a year of struggling, the forces controlling the church left one by one, some quietly, some violently.  But I learned.  

Listen and trust.  I had to make so many tough decisions that the only thing I could do was pray, listen, and do.  Of course, I had some who I could call on for wisdom, but it was always a mixed bag of results.  But I learned to trust His voice amid a host of nightmares.  

My next pastorate was at the invitation of the fellowship I am a part of.  A church was in trouble, and they asked my wife and I to come and do our best.  We showed up to the first meeting, and the people were so mad they were throwing hymnals at the leadership, screaming at the top of their lungs, and slamming doors.  I was handed the keys and told, "Good luck."  On our first Sunday there, we had six people.  That included my wife, me, and two friends I brought.  I had to change the locks because a lot of stuff the people had donated to the church disappeared, including the plants in the front yard.  It was downhill from there for the next couple of years.  

Here, I learned a lot of lessons about GRITTY FAITH.  That's because I have been here 30 years now. (As of September 2025) But here is a big lesson I learned: #4.  Talent only got me so far; wisdom is getting me the rest of the way.  There is nothing wrong with talent.  It is a reflection of the gifts and skills God has given you to serve others with.  But if you rely on it to make you successful, you're in the wrong business.  

Proverbs 4:7. "Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do! And whatever else you do, develop good judgment." (NLT) 

Some people make faith look like a performance.  It isn't.  Faith is the expression of our love and gratitude to God by following His commands and honoring Him with our actions.  Some call that worship.  More than a song, worship is GRITTY FAITH in action.  When people see you go through tough times with Jesus, then expect Jesus to do something great through you. 

1. Duckworth, A. (2016). Grit: The power of passion and perseverance. Scribner.