shan

shan

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Finding Faith


Certain words carry baggage. Gay. Race. God. Vote. Male. Female. It's a shame really, because those words are beautiful and innocent. They have profound meanings and implications, yet they are indistinguishable from the connotations and drama they evoke. The reactions to them are often immediate, passionate, and extreme. Whether an extremely sluggish reaction, an overreaction, silence or screams, there is hardly ever objective listening taking place once certain words are mentioned. Depending on your point of view, you almost instantly want to smack, praise, turn off or tune out the speaker.
Faith is that kind of a word. Did you instantly shut down when you read it? Don't. Let go of the baggage. Hear me out. Faith is more than church a word. Faith belongs in the public square. It affects, and infects us all. We all have it, we were born that way. Where we place that faith is the source of our differences, but we all have faith in something. We may not call it faith. It often masquerades as devotion, loyalty, dedication, hope, trust. Still, those things are usually a ruse for the measure of innate faith we all possess. Where we spend our time, and invest our thoughts is often the area we've esteemed most faith worthy. It could be in ourselves, our relationships, our gods, our finances, abilities, goals, activities, career and more. It could be invested in one main source, or spread thinly over several sources.
The latter is what most people do. They place faith in all the pots in their lives, no matter how shallow. Our money. Our jobs. Our relationships. Ourselves. It is a combination of a little here, a little there, tucked in away in what we feel will help us most in a time of need.
Untold is that a little faith in many places amounts to no real faith at all. If a thing is truly worthy of faith, it requires a total investment. All in. That's what God wants. He wants all our faith. He deserves it. In fact, we are told that "without faith it is impossible to please Him." Furthermore, Jesus marveled at one thing and one thing only: faith. Remember how He said that all the commandments hinged on two: love God and love others? Likewise, all He told us to do here hinges on at least one thing: faith in Him. Jesus said mustard seed sized faith can move mountains. Mountains.
Faith is the currency of Heaven. I believe it is why Jesus did works when He walked the earth, not to increase His faith. He already knew He could heal the sick, raise the dead, walk on water, curse a fig tree, and all the rest. He did it to increase our faith, the faith of those who followed Him, and would one day follow Him. Yes, He wants our works, but only as a product of faith.
Jesus, God, is also the only one being honest about it. Everything and everyone in your life wants your faith. They just won't say so. Every commercial you see wants you to put some faith in the words you heard and in the product being sold. Every relationship you have is conditioned on the amount trust/faith you have in a person. Remove faith from your life and you'd do and have very little.
The faith of a person determines control. Destiny. This is why its placement is important. It needs to be in something eternally secure. Immutable. God is the only one who guarantees He does not change. To invest in any other but God is to invest in the uncontrollable, the random, the change. It is to pursue insecurity, to partner with inconsistency, and align oneself with the unfaithful.
Faith in other sources leaves us bound to the unstable and with a product that can fall apart, shake, change and shift just like its source. It is subject to the powers, or lack of power of the one, or thing that possesses our faith. This is why God must have our faith, and why He proved He is love. Perfect. All good. If He were not, He's no more deserving of our faith than any unstable, selfish person/thing which bends, breaks, shifts, and changes. God's proven, perfect love is the collateral for our faith. His faithfulness secures our own faith. He can be entrusted with our faith, because He has done everything to earn it.
If you place your faith on other areas, you can be successful, you can fail, or be misled, but you will also be controlled. Faith in anyone or anything, gives it power and control. That is why you must put your faith in something or someone who doesn't seek to selfishly control you, but one who knows you, loves you, and wants to complete you. Despite what you've been told, or feel, God's love does not seek to control you. If He did, He would not need your permission or consent to do so. Instead, your creator seeks to fulfill you, to make you whole. That will not change. You can trust Him with your faith.
God knows and does what's best for us. He wants us to be able to withstand the storms of life. He doesn't want us to be shifted, carried away with every wind. He wants us to be stable not tossed by the waves. In and on Him, is the only solid place to stand. He's the only foundation that cannot change. He is flawless. Forever. Perfection needs no improvements, and so He is constant. Everything and everyone else must change. Always. Thus, faith in anyone or anything else leaves us subject to their change. To invest elsewhere is to invite a shift. It is investment in instability. When the shift comes will you be able to withstand it?
How many people are affected when the stock market corrects itself, a child strays, a spouse leaves, someone dies etc.? Those are hard things. They hurt. They also reveal the true location and whereabouts of our faith. In Him is the only place we can invest faith and have a guaranteed return and growth no matter happens in our environment . He promised to those who have, more will be added. In exchange for you faith you will get more faith. It's a "win win."
A wise man builds his house on a rock. When the elements test it, there is no movement of him in the storm, because there is no movement in his God. Indeed the elements come to reveal the location of our faith. Trial is an opportunity to examine and correct any faulty faith investments. Are we steadfast, and immovable? That's He wants for us. It's the power of faith in Him. Even in the hardest times, it will cause us thrive in Him. Only in Him. He is the only one not affected by circumstance. He's a sure foundation. Of all the areas we can place our faith, God, is easily the best offer out there.
I dream of living on a farm. No mortgage, I'm also a fan of being prepared. I wouldn't say that I'm a prepper, but I'd love to dabble. If I'm not careful, that's a dream that could steal my faith. Perhaps that is why God has me living on a patch of land in the city. It would be ever so easy to put faith in my food supply, and financial supply.
If you loose your life for my sake you'll find it. That is His promise. So, even my beautiful country dream pales in comparison to the offer of the cross. If I "find my life" in my fortified house, and my food supply over God's provisions and protection, I've lost my only true security.
Faith in ability has led many to overcome adversity and achieve dreams. Faith in a cause has led others to set people free. Faith in finances have led many to wealth, and poverty. Faith is effective. Potent. That's true no matter what your faith is in. Faith or the lack of thereof, is also the driving force behind the work of our lives. Faith in ourselves, our money, our abilities causes us to work in and on those areas, because faith without works is dead. Wherever you place your faith, your works will follow. That's true no matter what our faith is in.
This is why I believe that faith in anyone or anything but God is pointless. Ultimately, it will result in the death of both the faith and the works because it is an inferior, degenerating alternative. It doesn't give life. I can't recall the amount of stories I've heard of dying millionaires asking for more time. I believe the wisdom of years taught them and invaluable lesson: It is not what you have that matters, it is what you do with what you have. This lesson perfectly relates to faith, because what you do in life flows from your system of faith/beliefs. What these people are really asking for is the time to correct errors in their faith that will bring a change to their actions, how they work and spend their years.
So, what do you believe in? What do you know from your soul? You will work all your days based on those beliefs. Do you really want to be working your entire life thinking financial security, or a relationship is the answer, only to find out you were deeply wrong?
I think we all know that faith in unstable things is not wise. Yet, faith in other sources comes easily to us. I believe the enemy makes this so. He keeps us distracted. He hides truth. He offers us shiny things to blind us to the substantive things of God. He makes fear to arise in everything and causes faith to feel impossible. Unattainable. He is still a liar. Faith in God is still our greatest defense against Him.
Faith is not a magic pill. It is a choice to believe God over all else. It is the decision to believe God despite what is seen. It is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Fortunately, it is not a feeling, or we'd never have any. It is an invitation to choose. It is the choice to believe and act on God's wisdom, vision, power. It is a belief in GOD"S way over all else come what may. That is what the enemy doesn't want us to have and know. He doesn't care if we are gifted, he can use that. He doesn't care if we are loved, he can use that. The only thing that he cannot use or have is anything completely given to God. That is especially true of our faith in God. Once you give your faith to God you have in one action surrendered everything to God. Satan cannot take back what belongs to God. He cannot use our faith in God. He tries, but faith in God cannot be overcome. He tries instead to get us not to have it, to doubt, to fear, and mainly to waste our days placing it elsewhere.
It's a run out the clock situation. He doesn't mind if we have a little faith in God, PLUS other things. As long as we don't place all our faith in Jesus, Hell wins. Our enemy knows it's best to keep us from ever getting to a place of surrendering total faith in God, because once we do the entire Kingdom of Heaven is unleashed in us on earth. We become unstoppable, and cause others to follow...and He'll be on the run. Powerless over us. So, he keeps us circling the field of faith, looking over the fence and admiring the fine building faith can build, but never entering. How tragic to stay in the field of but never enter and build the house of faith! Many live this way, with the power at their fingers, but fail to press go. Straddling the fence on any issue isn't really neutral. It's being neutralized. No power. He who straddles the fence is uncomfortable. Be filled to overflowing I beg you, don't settle for scraps when you can a full and wonderful meal.
Paul said He lived by the faith of the Son of God. Can you imagine that? Was Jesus ever defeated? To live by that kind of faith is to live worry free. Anxiety free. Victorious. Don't you want that? You can have that. Trust but God. Make that decision now. Give Him ALL your faith. Don't take it back. He doesn't take back the cross. Will things get hard? Guaranteed! Choose to believe especially then. Forget what you feel. Learn what God said. Live by it. That's truth. Trust it. Your enemy speaks to flesh. Flesh runs on how it feels. The spirit has power over the flesh. Believe in your heart all of it, all of what God says. God loves you. He died for you. He gave you the riches of Heaven. Experience them here. Faith unlocks that experience. Live free. Live by faith in Him. Live!





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