Faith in Real Life

I’m learning a lot about faith right now. A lot. I’m in that in-between season. In-between when God makes you a promise and you see the fulfillment. I know it’s coming. It’s almost here. I’m believing in faith that He is going to do what He said.

Of course He will. He cannot lie and He always does what He says.

Faith vs. Doubt

So, why do I doubt? Fear creeps in. I think, “What if I didn’t hear Him right?” I tell the Lord that I don’t doubt Him. I doubt me. Maybe I missed what He said. Or what He meant. But He doesn’t let me off that easy. He reminds me that I can hear Him perfectly fine. And I am so grateful for that. I am so grateful for a history of relationship with Him that I can look back on and remember all the other times I heard Him speak and saw Him move.  In real life.

The question is, then, do I really believe? Do I believe His promise enough to act on it? To make decisions on what I know to be true, but can’t prove to you at the moment? It is done in the Spirit.  The Lord has said it will happen. That makes it done. Just like Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” We don’t see it yet, but we have such confidence in God that we walk forward as though we have already seen it.

Conditional Faith

I think we all have things that are easy for us to believe the Lord will do and things that are not so easy. Our personal story comes into play here. Things we have experienced, both good and bad. If you come to me for prayer and the Lord tells me that He is going to heal you, I have no problem praying for you and knowing without a doubt that God is going to heal you. Probably because God has healed me in the past and I have seen Him heal others when I’ve prayed.

But in this area that I’m believing for myself right now? Hmm. I find I have to convince myself that God has spoken, that He is able and willing and He is going to do all He said. Maybe you can identify with this. In what areas is your faith in God strong and in what areas does it need to grow?

  • Maybe you have no problem believing God for finances, but wonder if He can really help you forgive the person who hurt you.
  • Maybe you have no problem believing God loves other people, but aren’t so sure He loves *you.*
  • Maybe you believe He loves you, but aren’t sure He wants to heal you.
  • Maybe you believe He is with you, but feel like you haven’t seen His direction in your life.

We need to believe ALL the promises of God and that EVERYTHING He says in His Word is true. And then, when He speaks something specific to our hearts, we need to believe that in faith as well. What we hear from Him needs to line up with what the Bible says—always—and we do need to pray in agreement with His will and in right relationship with Him. But when those things are all in place and He has said He is going to do something we have a hard time believing, we need to exercise that faith muscle. Banish all doubt. Keep bringing thoughts in agreement with the Lord.

Faith in Real Life

One day the disciples were walking with Jesus toward Jerusalem in the morning. There was a fig tree that was full of leaves, but had no fruit. Jesus went looking for fruit on the tree and when He found none, said, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again,” (Mark 11:12-14.) The next morning, the disciples walked by this same tree again and saw that the tree had “withered from its roots.” Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!”

Listen to what Jesus said next …

“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours,” (Mark 11:20-23.)

We use this verse in a figurative sense, comparing a mountain to any obstacle in our lives and I’m sure that applies. But I’d like to point out that Jesus had cursed a fig tree—a living object in real life, not a figurative one—and it literally withered up and died. So I don’t think it is far-fetched to think that He was also talking about real, earthen mountains as well.

Now, I know I do not have the faith to tell a mountain to go throw itself into the sea. But I want to! I want to have the kind of faith that believes God can do ANYTHING. Even what I am believing Him for right now.

Faith Right Now

So I’m writing to you from the “in-between” and declaring that I do believe. If this had already happened, it wouldn’t require any faith! When my miracle happens, you’ll know that God came through, just like He said, and that I really have been believing Him and working toward believing Him more all along. I can’t wait to write that post!

So, let’s not count ourselves out of any of God’s promises. They are ALL for each one of us. Reach out and believe. It takes faith to activate and appropriate the promises of God in our lives. Believe and do not doubt. Ask in prayer. Believe and receive.

“Every good and perfect gift is from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows,” (James 1:17.)