My Faith

Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV) 11 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Right now this seems to be one of my “get me through life” scriptures.  If I went by what my eyes could see, I truly think some days I would drown.  There are things I’ve been praying for that haven’t come to pass yet, things that are out of order and I want to try and fix, but can’t….and things that to anyone looking from the outside in would look just plain look sad. 

Sometimes in order to make it through what we can see, we have to reach for something we can’t see; this requires faith.  The dictionaries definition of faith is 1. Complete trust or confidence in someone or something. 2. Strong belief in the doctrines of religion, based on spiritual conviction rather than proof.  This is where I become so very grateful that my God is all knowing and all powerful because it’s through Him that I can make it through anything.  It’s with my belief in Him and all that He is; I can hold onto hope and still have a joy in my heart that can only come from Him.

Surely I’m not saying that it’s always easy or that I never have fear and doubt, but my faith is truly what gets me through each day.  I’m learning, more and more, to fully trust God with my life; everything….from what I do on a daily basis to the big things that come my way and even things that need to be changed.  It is through my faith that I am able to look past what my physical eyes can see now, to the hope and belief that in Christ everything is and will be alright. 

The Message Bible states is this way…Hebrews 11:1 (MSG) 11 ^1-2 The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd.

I really like the way this version reads because it’s not always easy to have this spiritual conviction and some days I really have to dig deep to  hold on to it, but it’s my trust in Him that keeps me going.  It’s my faith that makes this life worth living.  Because I can trust that He is there in and through it all, I’m grounded and steadfast even when I can’t see clearly or even understand what’s happening. 

“Faith does not eliminate questions.  But faith knows where to take them.”  Elisabeth Elliot.

Keeping Our Focus

Matthew 14:28-31 (NLT) ²⁸ Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.”  ²⁹ “Yes, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.  ³¹ Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”

Sometimes we go through life and things seem to be pretty good; no major troubles or downfalls going on.  We have our focus on God and walking out the life that He has placed before us and all seems to be right with the world.  Then, all of a sudden something will happen to distract us.  We think to ourselves ok, no problem I can handle this; then bam…something else happens and before we know it our focus is on the problem instead of the one who can carry us through it all.  These distractions aren’t always huge issues either.  Sometimes they can simply be daily distractions but, after we give them so much time and attention soon our focus is completely lost in them. 

Peter’s focus was on Jesus when he asked Him to allow him to walk on the water with Him, but as soon as something distracted him he began to sink.  Can you imagine how amazing that must have been for Peter to walk with Jesus on the water before he started to sink?  I dare compare it to the feeling that we still have today when things are so peaceful because we are following God; when we can feel His amazing presence in our lives guiding us through.  Then, just as Peter was distracted by the waves and started to sink, something happens in our lives that causes us to lose focus on God and we too begin to fall victim to it.           

Psalm 121:1-2 (NIV) ¹ I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? ² My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

I’m telling you I can probably recall time after time when I’ve thought I was good…like everything was under control and I felt at peace.  Then, just like that, something would happen to distract my focus from God.  Being honest; it’s not always this huge life changing problem either, sometimes I just give too much time and attention to something or someone in place of God.  Everything from true hard times in life to allowing social media to be the center of my attention has caused me to lose sight of God and drown in the world. 

The fact of the matter is we are always going to have problems.  There is always going to be some type of trouble, distraction or heartache waiting for us around the corner.  I mean that is the enemy’s job…right? The blessing in that is that we always have our Heavenly Father to look to and guide us.  This scripture tells us that our help comes from the Lord…the Maker of heaven and earth.  So certainly He can order our steps through any trials we may come to. 

Now, trust me, by no means will I say this is always easy or even that it will be the first thought in our minds when distractions and problems arise.  However, the second we notice that our attention is focused on the problem at hand and pray for help and guidance from God the stronger our faith will become.  As our faith becomes stronger our focus on God also becomes stronger and the trials of this world won’t have the hold on us that they once did. 

I’m sure many of us have heard the saying “Don’t tell God how big your problems are, tell your problems how big your God is.”  When we allow Him to be our main focus and drive in life we can make it through anything.  I’m so grateful for a God who loves me enough to take me by the hand and lead me through this life. 

See What He Sees

Psalm 139:13-14 (NLT) ¹³ You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. ¹⁴ Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.

We allow too much of this world’s negativity to become our life and truth.  Truths, that we live by day to day and sell ourselves short because of it.  We think of ourselves as not as pretty as this person or not as smart as that person.  “I’m not special” and “I have nothing to offer this world” and even “I’m not loveable or favored by God”.  Because of the lack of inner strength, or better put our lack of really seeing ourselves the way God does, we settle and accept the harsh lies the world feeds us about who and what we really are.  Sadly, it all starts when we’re young and stays with us as we grow older.

We may have a group of friends we hang with and because of the way the world views beauty, they may be told how pretty they are and you may not have heard those same words towards you.  Maybe you grew up in a home with a sibling that may bring home better grades than you and your parents are constantly praising them for how wonderful they are and you don’t hear those same encouraging things said to you.  Or…Possible you’ve been raised in an abusive home or in an abusive relationship and you think this is how love is shown or this is what you deserve.    

ALL of these are LIES from the enemy to keep you from seeing the beauty that God not only sees, but created when he formed you.  These lies will cause us to become stagnant, crumble within and even cause hurt or harm to ourselves intentionally.  I can’t even begin to tell you how important it is that we all see and love ourselves for whom and what God created us to be.  Trust me I have had, and sometimes still do, my share of insecurities and I know how hard it can be to see past what has grown inside me to be my “truth”.  It’s because of that, I have such a strong passion for wanting our young to know God and who they really are in Him. 

A little while ago I saw something on the internet that really stuck with me; it was a framed mirror with some scripture and inspirational words written on them.  Words like beautiful, smart, favored and a child of God.  I thought to myself WOW… that is absolutely beautiful!  I remember thinking that every  time that person looks in that mirror they are seeing all those beautiful words describing who they are in Christ; that surely if you wake up each morning and say these words out loud to yourself while looking in the mirror…they would begin to be written as truths on your heart.  What a powerful impact this could have on our lives.   

So I’ve found some framed mirrors and decided to create some of these beautiful and uplifting inspirations myself; with, of course, the help of my daughter the artist.  We’ve created five so far and I am so happy with the way they turned out, I call them ‘I AM mirrors’.  I’ve been in prayer as to who we can give them to as gifts, but a deeper prayer is that we can find a place to buy the mirrors in bulk and make many more of them and share them with the teens of our church. 

From the hairs on the top of your head to the soles of your feet; from your inner most parts to the outside of your skin…God created it all.  He knew exactly what He was doing and He did it on purpose and with a purpose.  He created your mind, your heart, your appearance…all of you… with you specifically in mind.  You have a place in His Kingdom and through you He can do great things and touch other people’s lives.  You can be used by Him to help others to see the best in themselves and want to live a life for Christ too. Your unique beauty, both inside and out is yours and yours alone…special and set apart!

Listening

                Even before the start of the New Year and all the talk of resolutions I’ve been noticing a change in myself and even more so, the desire to change.  I can’t specifically say it’s a change in any one direction, except to say striving harder for God.  I’m really feeling and wanting this all around better me and life.  From my quiet prayer time to my physical outward walk with God, I want more.  With that being said and keeping with my goal for the New Year to just be a better me, I want to start off with my prayer life.  Something that I seem to have difficulty with is allowing it to be a two way street; I need to learn to listen as much as I pray. 

                If anybody knows me, they know I am a true advocate for prayer.  I know that without a shadow of a doubt it truly changes things and lives.  I also know how important it is to not only talk to God, but to also listen for and to Him….yet, this is something I feel I struggle with.  I know part of the problem is finding the time and not just time, but quiet uninterrupted time to just sit before Him.  Now I know myself and my life well enough to know that my best time is found in the mornings before I wake anyone else up for the day. 

So, I’ve decided to take a small break from the online studies that I have been doing and to rededicate that time to trying to hear from God.  My plan is to get up and read a chapter of the Bible, say a prayer and then try to sit quietly and meditate on what I’ve read.  I hope to learn to quietly sit before Him and discern between His voice and that of my own thinking.  I do realize that it will take time to learn to hush my mind so that I can focus on the word; instead of the many things I need to do for the day or that have happened the day before.  However, I do trust that because my heart desires to hear from God, He will open my spiritual ears. 

This is something that I have talked about a lot with a friend over the years; she would always tell me to find a quiet place, sit and listen.  Then I’d shoot her a crazy look or a yeah right because I’ve tried…many times over and it just doesn’t seem to work for me.  She’s told me that it sometimes takes time and that not every time that I sit, will I hear something.  It’s the obedience and desire of wanting to hear from Him that strengthens my spiritual leading and hearing from Him. 

Now, I do admit I haven’t tried it for any significant length of time.  Maybe a couple days at most…then I seem to get a bit frustrated and feel like I just can’t hear Him.  I will also say that I think I hear from Him a lot more than I realize, especially with the wonderful ideas He gives me to introduce to my family.  I know these are ideas from Him, but somehow in my mind don’t link them to Him actually speaking to me.  I also admit that I’m one to want to hear that audible voice, but deep down realize that most often that is not the way He will speak to me. 

It is my truest hope that I will learn in my quiet time to not only pray to God, but to listen for that still small voice in my spirit.  I am determined to realize that not every sitting will produce a specific leading, but it’s my prayer that I will grow closer to Him and to honor and reverence Him with my heart and mind.