Have you ever lost faith in someone or something? There
are several things in my own life that I have lost faith in; government leaders,
stock market stability, Ginsu knives, Fry’s rebates, some friends, military
intelligence and even Christians. It’s easy to lose faith in something when all
you see and hear are mere promises with little or no action to back up the
words.
For illustration purposes suppose I were a car. If I were a car shouldn’t I leave any evidence behind that I had actually traveled through the area? Did I leave rubber on the road or oil behind in a parking space where I stopped? Maybe you might notice my skid marks pointing to the fact that I was going too fast and got distracted by another driver. Do I make any kind of an impact at all on the world in which I live? Is there enough evidence to convict me that I am alive, breathing and part of my community?
So what I do know is that faith is trusting in something or someone unseen. We exercise faith every day, like trusting that the chair in the dining room will support our weight when we sit down on it. While we can’t directly discern the wind, we trust it will fill the colorful fabric of a kite sending it high up into the air on a windy day. But why when it comes to an almighty Creator do some people stumble and can’t grab onto faith?
Spiritual faith is the act of trusting in a higher power other than one’s self. Trusting that God, the ultimate Designer and Creator of all I see around me, will carry me through safe to the other side even through dangerous waters. Do you all remember the picture that had two sets of footprints in the sand that suddenly end with just one set of footprints continuing on down the beach?
Although today, we are engaged in a great spiritual battle that we cannot see. Our enemy can take many forms which the weapons of this world don't work against. Fear and despair are two of our enemy’s mightiest weapons. These weapons, once released on us, can take their toll, draining our energy and life right out of us. If we don’t surrender to God, we can find ourselves stranded alone somewhere out along life’s dark valley roads.
In the gospel of John, chapter 14 Jesus comforts us as well as attempts to strengthen our faith with these words. "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also."
So if faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God then we all should be reading our bibles allowing God’s living water to flow into us. Always holding up before us the shield of faith, the word of God, that protects us from the fiery darts of our enemy. And let His peace flow like a river through our lives.
For illustration purposes suppose I were a car. If I were a car shouldn’t I leave any evidence behind that I had actually traveled through the area? Did I leave rubber on the road or oil behind in a parking space where I stopped? Maybe you might notice my skid marks pointing to the fact that I was going too fast and got distracted by another driver. Do I make any kind of an impact at all on the world in which I live? Is there enough evidence to convict me that I am alive, breathing and part of my community?
So what I do know is that faith is trusting in something or someone unseen. We exercise faith every day, like trusting that the chair in the dining room will support our weight when we sit down on it. While we can’t directly discern the wind, we trust it will fill the colorful fabric of a kite sending it high up into the air on a windy day. But why when it comes to an almighty Creator do some people stumble and can’t grab onto faith?
Spiritual faith is the act of trusting in a higher power other than one’s self. Trusting that God, the ultimate Designer and Creator of all I see around me, will carry me through safe to the other side even through dangerous waters. Do you all remember the picture that had two sets of footprints in the sand that suddenly end with just one set of footprints continuing on down the beach?
The caption below the picture said “Jesus, why did you
leave me?”
To which Jesus replies “I did not leave you I was carrying
you.”
But what if my spiritual faith was like a car’s battery?
If my faith is like a battery then I can expect to get about five years of
service until it completely drains out and leaves me stranded somewhere along
the highway. But faith is not like a car battery that needs to be recharged but
rather it’s a force from God that continually flows from Him. God has used the
analogy of a rushing river where the water turns, slows and calms down but just
as the water flows over rocks in its path we are always surrounded by God’s
love. We become the temple of the Holy Spirit as He lives inside of each
believer.
Ephesians
1:13 says it this way “In Him you also trusted,
after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also,
having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the
guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession,
to the praise of His glory.”
Faith comes by hearing and hearing from the word of God. This
is when life starts to get interesting. When we start to live each day
trusting, when we lose the fear factor and scales start falling from our eyes
we begin to see the world in a new light.
Although today, we are engaged in a great spiritual battle that we cannot see. Our enemy can take many forms which the weapons of this world don't work against. Fear and despair are two of our enemy’s mightiest weapons. These weapons, once released on us, can take their toll, draining our energy and life right out of us. If we don’t surrender to God, we can find ourselves stranded alone somewhere out along life’s dark valley roads.
In the gospel of John, chapter 14 Jesus comforts us as well as attempts to strengthen our faith with these words. "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also."
So if faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God then we all should be reading our bibles allowing God’s living water to flow into us. Always holding up before us the shield of faith, the word of God, that protects us from the fiery darts of our enemy. And let His peace flow like a river through our lives.
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