“You have allowed me to suffer much hardship, but you will restore me to life again and lift me up from the depths of the earth.”
Psalms 71:20 NLT
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Tag Archives: faith
Bad News And Good News
When someone says, “I have bad news and good news,” which do you ask for first? A lot of people ask for the bad news first. They know they’ll react to it and then hope the good news will lift their spirit. Our reaction to bad news though, says a lot about our faith. It’s hard not to be devastated based on the news we receive, but God asks us to trust the truth of His Word over the truth of our circumstance.
In Luke 8, a man named Jarius wanted Jesus to come and heal his daughter. While they were on their way, some people from Jarius’ house came and told him that his daughter had died. He was devastated. In verse 50, Jesus tells Jarius, “Don’t be upset. Just trust me and everything will be all right. (MSG)” Jarius’ faith was being tested. Was he going to believe the report of others or what Jesus was saying? He allowed Jesus to come to his house and his daughter was raised from the dead.
We each hear bad news in our lives. The question is if we allow that to affect our faith. So many times when we hear that something is incurable, malignant, life threatening, serious, unavoidable or impossible, our faith takes a hit. We have to believe that what Jesus said to Jarius, He says to us. Don’t be upset. Just trust Him and everything will be all right. Things may not always turn out like we expect. We may only get bad news. Even if there’s no good news accompanying the bad, there still is good news. It’s that God is still in control and in the end, it will be all right.
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Faith’s Value
A while ago, there was a bank commercial where they had hidden cameras and walked up to people on a busy street. They opened a briefcase with $100,000 cash in it, handed it to them, asked them to watch it and said they’d be right back. One man sat down with the briefcase and put it under his legs. He appeared nervous as he looked both ways while clutching the briefcase. He was guarding it even though it wasn’t his. The commercial says, “We gave total strangers $100,000 and they didn’t take a dime.” Each one of them guarded what was given to them.
Paul essentially told Timothy the same thing about his faith. In I Timothy 6:20 Paul wrote, “Timothy, guard what God has entrusted to you.” His instruction to him and to us is that we are to guard our faith. We should treat it as a precious treasure that has been given to us. The Message says, “Guard it with your life.” Just like now, there were people who were easily distracted by the things of this world and wandered from the faith. They didn’t see their faith as being more valuable than anything the world has to offer, so Paul wanted to remind Timothy of its worth.
In II Corinthians 4:7, Paul described our faith like this. He said, “We have this precious treasure, the Divine Light of the Gospel, in frail human vessels of earth. (AMP)” Our faith is valuable like a treasure. It is not common or ordinary, so why do we treat it as such? We must hold onto it, value it and cherish it the same way we would if we were holding onto something worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. When we see our faith as valuable, we do things that protect it. We stay away from temptations that would lead us away from it.
In order to truly value our faith, we have to look at what it cost. That’s why Paul was constantly reminding us in the New Testament of the work Jesus did on the cross. He also spoke of his suffering for it. While salvation is free to you and me, it cost Jesus everything. There’s something in us that devalues what costs us nothing. Paul warned Timothy to not look at faith that way, but to look at it as a valuable treasure worth protecting.
The value you assign to something determines how you treat it. That’s why you wear old clothes to do yard work in. They have little value and you treat them as such. You would never wear your best clothes to do hard work in. You value them too much. The same is true with faith. The less you value it, the less you use it or have a resolve to live up to its demands. On the other side of that, the more you value it, the more you’re willing to sacrifice for God. How much do you value your faith? You just have to look at how you live in order to answer that question.
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Times Of Transition
Transitions in life are hard. They mean that one part of your life’s story is over and a new one is about to begin. They are the space between where faith is tested and fear fights to creep in. They are a temporary no man’s land that we have to walk through in order to grow. As we walk through them, it’s hard to see what’s coming next. The territory is so unknown to us that we put our attention and focus on the transition rather than on where we’re being transitioned to. We question God’s providence in our situation during these times.
I remember one of the first lessons I learned working in a child care center was with transitions. Kids hated transitions as much as adults. I learned that if I told them we were going to be making a change in direction in a few minutes, it would give them time to finish what they were doing and to prepare mentally for what was coming next. Now, when I talk to sales reps, I talk to them about transitions in the sale. It’s important for the buyer to know where they are in the sale and what’s coming next. I even encourage them to share with the buyer the why behind the transition.
As I’ve thought about all of that, I started wishing God would give us the warnings about transitions approaching in our lives and the why’s behind them. As I prayed about it, God reminded me how many times Jesus told the disciples what was going to happen to Him in Jerusalem and why. They never heard a word of it and were shocked in the Garden of Gethsemane. They entered a time of transition between having Jesus walk with them daily and having the Holy Spirit coming as their guide. Like us, they were confused, frightened and wondered where God was in the transition.
God speaks to each of us daily. He says things we ignore or don’t want to hear so we block Him out. We use our selective hearing when He speaks of things that scare us. The disciples heard Jesus tell them about the transition, but they weren’t listening. Even when we know a transition is coming, it’s still natural to be scared. We’re afraid of change. The last few years have taught me that change is necessary for growth. When we fight it, we fight growing, we fight the future God has for us and we fight God’s will. Our times of transition help prepare us for the change. They grow our faith and trust in God’s plan for our life. It’s something we can only see when we take the time to look back.
Imagine if Peter and the others had stayed locked up in their house and never went to the upper room. Out of 500 people whom Jesus told to go and wait, only 120 made it through the transition. They were tough enough to stick it out and trusted that God had something more on the other side of the transition. As He did for them, so He does for you. God has something greater for you on the other side of this time of transition. It may take longer than you expected, but hang on. The reward will be worth it. The growth you will experience will be like no other time in your life. Don’t give up in the time of transition. Hold strong to your faith and trust God to see you through.
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Run Your Race
I enjoy watching sports of all kinds. I love watching them because of the struggle, the competition, the will to be the best and to see the sacrifices people make to push themselves to the limits. One of the sports I love to watch is running. Part of it is because I used to be a runner and the other part is that it is as much mental ability as it is physical ability. There are also many correlations between running and our spiritual life. Paul knew this and drew several of those in his letters to the early church. He knew that our Christian lives demand the same type of discipline.
One of the first things you learn in running is form. Yes, there is a proper way to run and an improper way. You can reduce wind resistance and drag by how you shape your body and move your arms. When you don’t have proper form, you create resistance that slows you down and wears you out. It’s the same when it comes to running our faith race. There is a proper way to do it and a way that slows you down. The New Testament spends a lot of time describing how we should live as believers. The writers knew that it wasn’t the great sins that defeat us, it’s the little ones over time. That’s why Hebrews 12:1 says, “Let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. (NLT)”
Another thing you learn in racing is to keep your head and eyes forward. So many races are lost because the runners are looking side to side to see where everyone else is. That’s a major no no for runners. It slows you down, distracts you from your goal and creates resistance. You have to keep your focus on your breathing and your eyes on the finish line. Solomon wrote in Proverbs 4:25, “Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. (NLT)” We need to lose the distractions in our lives that keep our eyes off of Heaven. Keep your focus on the One who is faithful and true so you can finish your course.
The last thing I’d like to mention is that you have to run your own race. God has a specific course for you. Your race isn’t the same as everyone else’s. Keep your focus on what and how God called you to live not on how He’s called others to live. Don’t compare yourself, your race or how you run to others. You have a different race, but the same goal. Paul knew Timothy was facing this distraction so he wrote to him in I Timothy 6:12, “Run your best in the race of faith, and win eternal life for yourself; for it was to this life that God called you… (GNT)” You run your best race by focusing on what God called you to, not what He called someone else to. So get rid of the weights that hold you down, fix your eyes on the prize and run your race.
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10 Scriptures On Trusting God
1. “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. (John 14:1 NLT)
2. Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. (Proverbs 3:5 AMP)
3. But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, “You are my God.” (Psalm 31:14 ESV)
4. It pays to take life seriously; things work out when you trust in GOD. (Proverbs 16:20 MSG)
5. But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me. (Psalms 13:5 NLT)
6. Trust in the Lord. Have faith, do not despair. Trust in the Lord. (Psalms 27:14 GNB)
7. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock. (Isaiah 26:4 ESV)
8. The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:9 NLT)
9. [Most] blessed is the man who believes in, trusts in, and relies on the Lord, and whose hope and confidence the Lord is. (Jeremiah 17:7 AMP)
10. “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him. (John 3:16-18 MSG)
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Target Practice
I spent some time recently with my family doing target practice. We were shooting at the target from about 30 yards away with a 9 mm. I aimed at the bullseye, squeezed the trigger and hit the bottom left of the target. I aimed at the bullseye again and got the same result. I adjusted my stance and aim, then lined up again and hit the bullseye. Out of ten shots, I was only able to hit it three times. I found that I was inconsistent at trying to hit the mark.
Living the Christian life is a lot like that. We aim for the perfect Christian life, but over and over again, we miss the mark. We adjust our approach, we change our stance and do what we can to hit the bullseye. We get it right some of the time, but a lot of times, we just don’t measure up. When that happens, we try harder. Sometimes that just messes things up worse. In the end, a lot of us get frustrated because we just can’t be consistent and live this life the way we wish we could.
Paul faced a similar struggle. In Romans 7, he described the struggle well. In verse 15 he said, “I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.” He continues in verse 19, “I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.” Paul understood the frustrations of trying to live a perfect christian life. In fact, in verse 24, he said trying and failing just made him miserable. He knew that no matter what, He couldn’t do right all the time. Sound familiar?
We fail when we think that being a Christian is within our own power and abilities. We are not perfect and therefore cannot be perfect all the time. Besides, our salvation is not dependent on our actions, but rather on the work that Jesus did on the cross. Yes, we should try to live godly lives in response to what He did, but don’t get misled into thinking that living a perfect life is how you get into Heaven. Our lives should be controlled by the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:5-6 says, “Those who live as the Spirit tells them to, have their minds controlled by what the Spirit wants. To be controlled by human nature results in death; to be controlled by the Spirit results in life and peace.”
If your life looks like my target and you’re miserable because you can’t live up the the perfect expectations you’ve placed on yourself, spend some time in Romans 7 and 8. Paul found that the answer is not in our own abilities, but in His. Jesus” death on the cross makes up for all the times we miss the mark. We have to accept His grace and allow Him to apply it to our imperfect lives. It starts with admiring you can’t do it (Romans 7) and finding that the answer lies in Jesus (Romans 8). Don’t give up. Keep living for Him and learn to rely on His grace instead of your actions.
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Active Faith
I’ve always enjoyed reading the miracles that Jesus performed. There are a lot of similarities in them. A lot of the times Jesus tells the person, “Your faith has made you whole.” That phrase has always stood out to me because it puts the power of the miracle in the hands of the one receiving it. Other times, Jesus tells the person to go and do something and as they turn away to do it, they receive their healing. Again, it was their action that triggered the healing. In the miracles that I can think of, it’s always a partnership between the person in need and Jesus.
The disciples found five loaves and two fish and jesus fed 5,000. The blind man at the Pool of Siloam had to go wash his eyes for sight. The invalid lowered through the roof by his friends had to pick up his mat. Peter had to cast his nets on the other side. The woman with the issue of blood had to touch the hem of His garment. The ten lepers had to go show themselves to the priest. Each of these required action on the person’s part. They had to act in faith to receive their miracle.
At work, I study Brian Tracy philosophies in sales. One of the things he talks about is the Law of Belief. It says that your beliefs become your realities. He adds to it that people always act in a manner consistent with their beliefs. I immediately translate that to a life of faith. Peter believed if he got out of the boat, he would walk on water. No one else got out of the boat. It makes me think that he was the only one who truly believed he could do it. Each person in that boat acted on their belief. I quickly realized that my beliefs are not what I say they are, but rather what I act on.
There’s a difference in saying I believe in something and in acting on that belief. My actions speak louder than words. James put it this way: faith without works is dead. You could also say, “Faith without action is dead.” The Bible is full of miracles and promises of God that require action on our part. You and I are part of the equation that God uses to solve problems. When we truly believe that He can use us, we start acting in a manner consistent with that belief. We actively become His hands and feet. Until that point, as James put it, our faith is dead.
What has God asked you to do that you’ve been holding back on? Where has He asked you to go, but you still haven’t moved? Put your actions where your words are. Step out in faith and act on what you believe. Peter did and he’s the only disciple that can say he walked on water. It’s time we got out of our boats and started trusting God to do the impossible. If we truly believe that all things are possible with Him, we’ll act in that manner. Believe what God tells you, trust in His Word and put your faith into action. Your life will forever change at that moment.
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