For the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. (Romans 12:3)
I had a high school friend who had a remarkable talent for playing the French horn. He was admitted to Oberlin conservatory of music, the only college that he applied to. However, he was not offered a scholarship from Oberlin and had no faith that God would provide necessities for him. I lost track of my friend, but I hope he developed faith in God and himself, otherwise his French horn and talent are likely sitting in his attic collecting dust.
So, how does God give us faith? Let’s look at Hebrews 11:6: “No one can please God without faith. Whoever goes to God must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” This verse tells us that no one can please God without attaining faith and that there are five steps to attaining it: 1) We must believe that God exists, 2) We must seek God through Bible Study and prayer, 3) We must pray for ours and others wants and needs, 4) We must acknowledge answered prayer (rewards), and 5) We must expect and rely on God to answer our prayers.
We begin with faith like a mustard seed (very small) and as God rewards us by answering our prayers, we develop a deeper faith. When we measure the faith that God has given us, we look back on our answered prayer and know that it was God who worked through us to accomplish so much. Therefore, we should think of ourselves in respect to what we have accomplished through God.