Faith.
It’s a small word, yet means something so, so big.
I know when God’s trying to get through to me about something, because I start seeing or hearing about it everywhere I turn. When I wake up, when I am falling asleep, it’s there in my head. And right now, what He’s trying to get me to learn is FAITH.
I’m kinda bad at faith. I often struggle with believing that God is a truly caring and involved God who personally guides each of us, and who gives honest-to-goodness gifts - not stones and scorpions - because He loves. And because I’m bad at faith, I’ve let it slide. I’ve allowed it to be this magical sort-of luxury that I can’t attain.
I’ve allowed myself to continually be defeated because of what I do or don’t feel at any given time.
But then I read this: “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him.” (Heb 11:6, NLT) And I realize it’s not a luxury. And it’s certainly not magic. Or a feeling. Like love, it’s an absolutely necessary building block.
Which makes me wonder, How long have I been displeasing God?
My mind and emotions are a constant battle-ground. It’s the place that the enemy of my soul knows he can target and I’ll usually buckle, especially in this last year. And it’s a pretty tactical move on his part, because when that happens it affects so many layers of me. When he can make me feel that chaos of unbelief in my mind, it spreads first to my logic and to my perceptions of the world and people around me, which in turn affects my relationships, then cripples my strength and effectiveness as a soldier of Light in this present darkness, and ultimately shakes the foundations of my belief in God. Hit in the right place, it can crumble everything to Ground Zero.
Faith is not just a feeling. It’s a very real knowledge, one to put into practice - and fight for, if necessary - every day. It’s not superfluous. It’s an extremely important piece of armor we use to fight this battle we’re born into once we accept Christ as our Lord. It also doesn’t come easy, but it’s worth fighting for.
And so we fight the good fight for the true Faith.
It’s a small word, yet means something so, so big.
I know when God’s trying to get through to me about something, because I start seeing or hearing about it everywhere I turn. When I wake up, when I am falling asleep, it’s there in my head. And right now, what He’s trying to get me to learn is FAITH.
I’m kinda bad at faith. I often struggle with believing that God is a truly caring and involved God who personally guides each of us, and who gives honest-to-goodness gifts - not stones and scorpions - because He loves. And because I’m bad at faith, I’ve let it slide. I’ve allowed it to be this magical sort-of luxury that I can’t attain.
I’ve allowed myself to continually be defeated because of what I do or don’t feel at any given time.
But then I read this: “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him.” (Heb 11:6, NLT) And I realize it’s not a luxury. And it’s certainly not magic. Or a feeling. Like love, it’s an absolutely necessary building block.
Which makes me wonder, How long have I been displeasing God?
My mind and emotions are a constant battle-ground. It’s the place that the enemy of my soul knows he can target and I’ll usually buckle, especially in this last year. And it’s a pretty tactical move on his part, because when that happens it affects so many layers of me. When he can make me feel that chaos of unbelief in my mind, it spreads first to my logic and to my perceptions of the world and people around me, which in turn affects my relationships, then cripples my strength and effectiveness as a soldier of Light in this present darkness, and ultimately shakes the foundations of my belief in God. Hit in the right place, it can crumble everything to Ground Zero.
Faith is not just a feeling. It’s a very real knowledge, one to put into practice - and fight for, if necessary - every day. It’s not superfluous. It’s an extremely important piece of armor we use to fight this battle we’re born into once we accept Christ as our Lord. It also doesn’t come easy, but it’s worth fighting for.
And so we fight the good fight for the true Faith.