Living By Faith

For those who know me....it's probably a shock to you, but I'm a fairly well organized person. Stop laughing. Sometimes I struggle with my effort vs. God's leadership in my life and tasks. The key question is: where is the dividing line between faith and my effort? When do I reach the point when I pass from completely trusting by faith and doing what I'm capable of doing?

Here's the short answer: everything I do is by faith! There is nothing I do that doesn't require full and complete faith in Jesus Christ. That began with my salvation and it continues every day as the Holy Spirit disciples me to be more like Christ. God has created me to bring glory to Himself. So even the most basic things I can do should reflect His glory, not my own.

Many times I get myself into trouble when I think I have the answers or ability to handle something, even simple things. God quickly brings me back to reality, often through the same Scripture passage: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths" (Prov. 3:5-6). There is nothing too large or small for Him to do.

Some of the best lessons come when God asks me to step out in faith. The difference for Christians is that 1) we're not stepping out in faith alone - He is with us, 2) if we're moving in the direction He's leading, His Word says He will provide for us, and 3) the Bible is full of examples of how God has done this many times before. We tend to be a "seeing is believing" type of people. Why then can't we trust the examples we see in Scripture and believe He can do that again?

True biblical faith is not blind optimism or a manufactured hope-so feeling. True faith willingly accepts and acts on things it doesn't always understand. True faith isn't simply one way to please God - it's the only way (see Heb. 11:6). We sometimes face what Henry Blackaby calls a "crisis of belief". What we do in such moments reveals what we really believe about God. To me, true biblical faith is a confident obedience to God's word in spite of circumstances and consequences. If we trust in Him, He will provide - all the time.

If we follow Him by faith, then I think Eph. 3:20 starts to leap off the page in our lives: we'll see Him "do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us." I want that.....I pray you do also.

Pastor Randy