Refining Faith: A Journey
Do you find it easier to trust God with some aspects of your life, but not others?
Maybe you are good at giving up the small aspects of your life, but cling to those big dreams that are important to you?
Maybe you easily give God your big dreams, but hold tightly to the small aspects to feel some sense of control in your life?
None of the answers to the questions above are wrong. We are all in different stages of our faith journey, with the ability to grow into the person God has created us to be. So, how do we keep moving forward when things are difficult? Here are some truths that will keep you moving.
God loves us and allows us room to grow.
God wants everything from us. Our hearts. Our thoughts. Our actions. Our lives. Our past. Our present. Our future. All of it. No holding back. There isn’t anything we have that God doesn’t want from us and that includes our sinful natures.
He wants us to give Him our moments of weakness or feeling doubtful. Our moments of feeling like we have no idea what we are doing. Those thoughts that come in the darkness of feeling worthless and unloved. In the failure and the sin, God wants us.
God created us
God spoke us into creation.
And that is what happened. Genesis 1:7. Those 5 words feel super simple, yet amazingly powerful. If God says it will happen, it’s going to happen. The earth, the sea, the sun, the sky, the moon, the birds, the fish, the animals, and humans responded to those words by coming alive.
By faith, we understand that the entire universe was formed at God's command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen. Hebrews 11:3
We may be broken. We may sin. We may stray from God. But, we are His masterpiece. I don’t know if you have ever taken the time to think about what the word masterpiece means or how it applies to yourself. It’s pretty amazing. The Oxford Dictionary defines a masterpiece as a work of outstanding artistry, skill, or workmanship. You are a work of art created with special skills by God’s workmanship. Just breathe that in a moment. I am a work of art. I have special skills. I was hand-created by God’s workmanship.
“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”
From Doubt to Freedom
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God gives us a choice
Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me." Matthew 16:24
We have a choice to follow or not. As a parent, I’ve learned it’s important to give children the ability to choose their path in life. It’s not my job to try to control their destiny. Just as a parent gives a child choices out of love, God does also. There is no requirement to follow Him. There is no force or control. His arms are open to us should we choose to follow Him. When we make the choice to follow God, it’s our job to do our best to follow Him every moment of every day. Sounds easy right?
We give up our way and follow Him
With all of this knowledge here I am, still trying to force my own will onto the miraculous vision God has planned for my life. I can admit I pick and choose which aspects of my life to give to God. Those parts that I am willing to let go of and have the Creator of the Universe help me out with. Not prideful at all, right? There are just some things I want to go my own way thank you very much! I catch myself thinking like that too often.
When I look back at the aspects of my life I have given to God, I realize there was still a safety net involved in letting go. The path was clear and fairly easy to follow. I knew where I was going. A 100% guarantee kind of deal. A building of trust in the process.
Those have been the small steps that God has given me to get me moving with Him. He knows me., which is a good and bad thing. He knows I’m slow to trust, don’t like giving up control, and have a lot of doubts about myself. That’s part of my sinful nature. He guided me with small steps that have built up to the giant leap of creating this blog.
There is no safety net here. There is no clear and easy-to-follow path. There is no 100% guarantee. There is only faith and taking steps. One foot in front of the other. One moment of trust built on top of the next. A willingness to not get it right immediately. An opening of my heart to pursue the purpose God has laid in front of me.
“Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.”
We take steps of faith, even if they are small
Faith is a journey that continues our entire lives. Some of us jump in head first, while others slowly get in. Maybe we take two steps forward and three steps back. Stray off the path and have to reset. With all of our struggles, it’s important to understand faith is a moving, living thing that never stays the same. Jesus called on His disciples to “follow” Him. We can’t follow something that isn’t moving. We can’t follow without being willing to move.
Where is God calling you to move lately? What is one small step of faith you can take on your faith journey to bring you closer to God’s promise?
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The realization that God created each one of us with a purpose and gifts is miraculous. Spend time connecting with God, your Creator, to strengthen your faith.