I was talking with a friend this weekend about faith. He was asking the tough questions that seem to plague Christians as we “step out of the boat” and begin exercising our faith.
“How do I know this is REALLY God…?”
“Now that I actually am willing to believe…what do I do next?”
“What do I do when crisis hits?”
The majority of people today find it seemingly impossible to think outside of their natural mind or experience. I grew up in a religious community driven by the unquestioning commitment to the validity and finality of FACTS.
If anyone would try to speak their FAITH, others around them immediately began speaking against them and trying to pull them back down to thinking only in NATURAL terms.
While I value my heritage of honesty, I realize they were only being honest with what they knew. When people finally grasp the TRUTH that a deeper reality supersedes all natural facts, all things become possible.
2 Corinthians 5:7 says, “for we walk by faith, not by sight”
It is one thing to BELIEVE something by faith. It is another thing altogether to WALK by faith.
In Matthew 14:28-31 Peter said to Jesus walking on the water, “LORD, if it is You, tell me to come to You on the water. And He said, ‘Come’. And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But seeing that the wind was strong, he was afraid. And beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me! And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him; and said to him, ‘O you of little faith! Why did you doubt?’”
Peter asked Jesus for a “word” because he had a relationship with Him. You must first settle the issue of TRUST before you can have FAITH.
Do you trust God to always want good things for you?
No, I’m not talking about some twisted way of thinking that sickness or poverty is somehow good for you. If God would use sickness and poverty, He would also use sin, because these are all a direct result of Adam’s sin. I think we can all agree that these things are not from God.
So, back to the question…”Do you TRUST God to always want good things for you?”
You need to read all of Psalm 112, but for now just look at verse 7, “He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD.”
This is where the rubber meets the road. All of life comes down to this question. If you truly can “see” in your heart, only good coming from God, then your faith is free to reach out and take what HE is so freely handing to you.
Fix the TRUST issue in your heart first by growing your relationship with HIM, and the seeds of FAITH you plant will overwhelm the harvest of doubt you’ve been walking in.
