The Faith Habit
Faith = Trust
Assurance = Confidence
Our faith is what connects us to God. A. W. Tozer states "True faith is never found alone; it is always accompanied by expectations." That expectation is our confidence in God. Faith and confidence go hand in hand. According to Romans 12:8 'God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.' Faith has already been given to us, we just need to use it. If we do not put anything we have learned into action, it will profit us NOTHING! Faith requires us to step out. We have to trust God enough to get out of the boat. Allow scriptures to take root in your heart and mind. Then release your faith by saying, praying and taking action. When we develop our faith muscle and sow seed of faith, it allows our faith to go to work in the super natural. How awesome is that?
Faith for Daily Living
If we eliminate the worry habit by re[lacing it with faith, it drives out fear and allows us to find joy in all circumstances. We simply need to trust God in every situation. Sounds so easy does.t it? It can be if spend time daily with God and verbalize our faith. Each time we acknowledge our faith in God and declare it out aloud, faith becomes stronger and it gets easier to hold on to our faith even in the most difficult of times. Faith for daily life shields us from many negative and tormenting as well. For faith is filled with hope and expectation. It never gives up.
Faith for the Past
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.
Isaiah 43:19
This is one of my favorite scriptures. Letting go of our past is hard. Living with regrets is harder! Jesus says "Neither do I condemn you." Jesus forgives us. Why can we not forgive ourselves? It is time for us to let go completely. It is time to give God our past - ALL Of IT!!! The past is over and done. We have no power to change it. Let's release our faith and trust God. He is greater than our past. He can turn our mistakes into miracles.
The Journey From Fear to Faith
What are you afraid of? Does fear consume you? I must admit that this section hit me pretty hard. In recent years I was consumed by by fear. It was so bad I literally wanted to unzip my skin and and walk away. The only thing that saved me, that kept me sane was my relationship with God. And it was not a nearly the relationship that I have now! I do not know how people that don't know God survive devastating circumstances. He was (and still is) the only I can count on, the only one I can fully rely on. I just kept turning to Him. Over time, He helped e overcome those fears and move forward. God showed me that my fears stemmed from the fact that I did not have complete faith in Him. I have learned to surrender fear quickly to Him instead of doubting His love for me. Now I place my faith in Him alone. Only God can work miracles and provide the peace when storms for fear threaten to overtake us. We can look for and expect miracles when we place our faith in God and surrender to Him.
Acceptance with Joy/Abandon Yourself to God
While it may seem hard to wait with you, it is our choice. If we must wait, why not wait in a manner that makes it easier on us? If we choose to worry and fret while we wait, it only makes us miserable. And our impatience won't make God hurry. If we choose to wait in joy, God gives us a peace only He can provide. God wants us to trust in Him. His ways are perfect. He wants us to trust Him with complete abandonment. Joyce says "Abandonment is forgetting the past, entirely, leaving the future completely in His hands and being totally at peace the future." If we develop the faith habit, life becomes tremendously joyful and we can rest in perfect peace as we wait on God.
thoughts:
take up the shield of faith,with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Ephesians 6:16
I read a devotional in Sparkling Gems this week on this verse. I love what Rick Renner says about Faith:
"He has given you enough faith to make sure you are covered for any event that comes along. Rest assured in the fact that God has imparted enough faith to you to make sure you are covered from head to toe! That faith, like a wide and long shield, is adequate to cover any need that will ever come along in your life!
Isn't that amazing? God has already given us enough faith to cover any and all circumstances that occur in our lives. He has given us enough faith to cover us like the shield of a Roman soldier. We just need to put our faith into action.
Father,
Thank you for providing us with enough faith to cover anything we come up against. Help us move from fear to faith and put that faith into action. Help each of us to hold our faith up high, keep it out in front and march forward without fear of what satan might try to do to us. In your precious name I pray, SO BE IT!
No comments:
Post a Comment