The Power of Real Faith
Hi, ladies! I am encouraged by all the recent postings. Even if you have fallen behind and have not spent time in this study like you wanted, it is not too late! Jump in now and be faithful for the rest of the study. You will be glad you did!
Speaking of faith, let's move on to this week's study shall we?
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1
Before kids, I had 18% body fat, weighed around 130 pounds, and could eat whatever I wanted and still stay that way. I was Ms. Active. I worked out, played sports, never sat still. Oh, youth. If you are still really young and your body hasn’t started saying “no” yet, enjoy it while it lasts!
I recently had my body fat and weight checked. Let’s just say, they aren’t what they used to be. Neither is my body, thanks to birthing three kids and the general change that a dozen years can bring. Ever since I had Jonathan, though, I’ve wanted that pre-baby body back. Okay, I’m realistic. I’m not 20 anymore. So some things are just not feasible. But low body fat and weight, flexibility, and energy are. I’ve spent the last ten years longing for those things back. And with every year that passed, and every pound I’ve added, my faith in ever reaching that goal has shrunk.
I don’t know what happened, but all that negativity changed this past holiday season. I decided that 2008 would be the year that I’d reach my goal. I rejoined my gym, signed up with a trainer to kick my butt, and started paying closer attention to what I ate. Now, I’m only a few weeks into it, but I already can taste the size 6 or 8 jeans. I KNOW I’m going to be where I want to physically. Why? Because I have FAITH.
I know what you are thinking. Having faith in my weight loss is easy. All I have to do is stay committed to the plan and I will lose it. Faith in God, however, is so much more complicated! But this week, I’ve had to ask myself “why?” Why is faith in God so much harder than having faith in things we can control?
Really, having faith is the essence of a relationship with God. Faith is belief in God’s believability. So the question is not whether you have faith in God. The question is do you believe God?
The Bible is replete with information on who God is. And yet, so often we doubt and lose faith. We get caught up in the circumstances surrounding us, and think that the God of the Bible is not the God of today. But the Bible is very clear on this. Malachi 3:6 says “I the Lord do not change.” Hebrews 13:8 tells us “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” He is a constant. He does not waver.
When we put our faith is who He is, we will find true faith. All too often, though, we put our faith in what God does. When God gives us that promotion we are full of faith. When He heals us of our illness, we are full of faith. When our lives are on the line and He pulls us through, our faith is great. But what about when He doesn’t? Where is our faith when we continue to battle illness? When we watch a loved one die? When we are caught in a situation that seems hopeless? So often, these are the moments when we question whether God is real, if he truly loves us, and if he will pull us through. These are the moments when we lose faith. So what changed? It wasn’t God, it was us! We put our faith in what God was doing and forgot that it should be in who God is!
Faith based in what God is doing will always be flawed. This is because we can’t see the whole picture. We are like someone who is blind in one eye. We have no depth perception for the situation. We see only a limited view, one that sometimes contains the worst of the whole. But God not only sees the whole situation, He sees what other situations will result because of the one we are in!
When Paul was prisoner and sailing to Rome (Acts 27:1-28:10), he had plenty of opportunity to lose faith. For fourteen days, they were tossed around in a hurricane level storm, the ship falling to pieces around them. In 27:20, it tells that the other 275 people on board had given up hope of being saved. And even when the angel spoke to him in a dream and told them they would all live, he knew they would still suffer. He knew they would run aground. Yet, through every hardship, he continued to have faith in God. He knew God could have given them perfect sailing conditions. He knew that God could have killed all his enemies and kept him from ever even becoming a prisoner. But just because God didn’t, doesn’t mean that He wasn’t God. Paul’s faith rested on who God was, not where Paul was.
Do you know what the interesting part of this story is to me? When they were stranded on the island of Malta. Paul was able to perform miracles while they stayed there. And, though it doesn’t say it specifically in the text, I’m certain that Paul was also able to tell the natives (and those stranded with him!) about Jesus. What looked like a colossal mishap turned into an opportunity for Jesus to be shared! How’s that for an example of us not always seeing the big picture!
One of my favorite stories of faith is in three of the four gospels. Mark 5:25-34 is my favorite telling. Jesus was on his way to heal a daughter of a synagogue ruler. But something happens before he gets there. A woman, who has been sick for twelve years, touches his cloak. She had tried doctor after doctor, searching for healing, and had only gotten worse. But she had faith that just to touch a corner of his cloak would bring the healing she needed. And as soon as she did, she was healed. Then Jesus stopped and asked who touched him. He’s surrounded by a mob of people, all of them pawing at him along the way. Yet he knew that her touch was different. (In Luke, it says that he felt power leave him!) So the woman steps forward, and tells Jesus her story. His response? Jesus said, “Daughter, your faith has healed you.”
We are like this woman. When we have struggles, we put our faith in anything but God. We look to our own strength. We look to the abilities of our husbands, our friends, our pastors. Basically, we rely on anything we can see. But that is not true faith. Remember Hebrews 11:1—Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do NOT see. Do you know what happens when we rely on those tangible things for our strength instead of basing our faith on God? We end up like the sick woman who looked to doctors to heal her: worse off than when we started! And all the while, one touch of Jesus is all we really need, because there is power in it!
The most incredible part of this story is the question it creates. If we put our faith in Jesus, and can gain such incredible victory with just one touch of His garment, then how much more are we missing out on? How much more is there for us when we latch on wholeheartedly with both hands? When we put our faith completely in Jesus, we will see the God of the Bible working in our lives in ways we never thought possible. Doesn’t that just excite you?
Now I realize that faith is something that grows as you grow in your relationship with God. I also know that, while you may have great faith in one situation, you may be struggling in another. So having the kind of faith that many in the Bible had might take us a while. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t start building it now. What are you having trouble believing God about? What situation in your life seems hopeless right now? Start there!
The best way to grow in faith is to grow in the knowledge of who God is. That means scripture knowledge. Pick an area where you lack faith. Then, find a scripture passage that you can memorize to help you grow in your faith. Share both with the group. If you are fairly new in your walk and don’t know of a scripture passage that would be good, then say so. Maybe someone else can suggest a passage for you to memorize. Let’s use this blog for what it was intended: to grow in our relationship with God and to help others to grow also. Maybe you don’t have a scripture to share with someone, but that doesn’t mean you can’t help, too. Challenge each other! When you see each other at church, ask how the memorization is going. Pray for each other. Let’s do all we can to become women whose faith results in Jesus’ power mightily on display!
Speaking of faith, let's move on to this week's study shall we?
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1
Before kids, I had 18% body fat, weighed around 130 pounds, and could eat whatever I wanted and still stay that way. I was Ms. Active. I worked out, played sports, never sat still. Oh, youth. If you are still really young and your body hasn’t started saying “no” yet, enjoy it while it lasts!
I recently had my body fat and weight checked. Let’s just say, they aren’t what they used to be. Neither is my body, thanks to birthing three kids and the general change that a dozen years can bring. Ever since I had Jonathan, though, I’ve wanted that pre-baby body back. Okay, I’m realistic. I’m not 20 anymore. So some things are just not feasible. But low body fat and weight, flexibility, and energy are. I’ve spent the last ten years longing for those things back. And with every year that passed, and every pound I’ve added, my faith in ever reaching that goal has shrunk.
I don’t know what happened, but all that negativity changed this past holiday season. I decided that 2008 would be the year that I’d reach my goal. I rejoined my gym, signed up with a trainer to kick my butt, and started paying closer attention to what I ate. Now, I’m only a few weeks into it, but I already can taste the size 6 or 8 jeans. I KNOW I’m going to be where I want to physically. Why? Because I have FAITH.
I know what you are thinking. Having faith in my weight loss is easy. All I have to do is stay committed to the plan and I will lose it. Faith in God, however, is so much more complicated! But this week, I’ve had to ask myself “why?” Why is faith in God so much harder than having faith in things we can control?
Really, having faith is the essence of a relationship with God. Faith is belief in God’s believability. So the question is not whether you have faith in God. The question is do you believe God?
The Bible is replete with information on who God is. And yet, so often we doubt and lose faith. We get caught up in the circumstances surrounding us, and think that the God of the Bible is not the God of today. But the Bible is very clear on this. Malachi 3:6 says “I the Lord do not change.” Hebrews 13:8 tells us “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” He is a constant. He does not waver.
When we put our faith is who He is, we will find true faith. All too often, though, we put our faith in what God does. When God gives us that promotion we are full of faith. When He heals us of our illness, we are full of faith. When our lives are on the line and He pulls us through, our faith is great. But what about when He doesn’t? Where is our faith when we continue to battle illness? When we watch a loved one die? When we are caught in a situation that seems hopeless? So often, these are the moments when we question whether God is real, if he truly loves us, and if he will pull us through. These are the moments when we lose faith. So what changed? It wasn’t God, it was us! We put our faith in what God was doing and forgot that it should be in who God is!
Faith based in what God is doing will always be flawed. This is because we can’t see the whole picture. We are like someone who is blind in one eye. We have no depth perception for the situation. We see only a limited view, one that sometimes contains the worst of the whole. But God not only sees the whole situation, He sees what other situations will result because of the one we are in!
When Paul was prisoner and sailing to Rome (Acts 27:1-28:10), he had plenty of opportunity to lose faith. For fourteen days, they were tossed around in a hurricane level storm, the ship falling to pieces around them. In 27:20, it tells that the other 275 people on board had given up hope of being saved. And even when the angel spoke to him in a dream and told them they would all live, he knew they would still suffer. He knew they would run aground. Yet, through every hardship, he continued to have faith in God. He knew God could have given them perfect sailing conditions. He knew that God could have killed all his enemies and kept him from ever even becoming a prisoner. But just because God didn’t, doesn’t mean that He wasn’t God. Paul’s faith rested on who God was, not where Paul was.
Do you know what the interesting part of this story is to me? When they were stranded on the island of Malta. Paul was able to perform miracles while they stayed there. And, though it doesn’t say it specifically in the text, I’m certain that Paul was also able to tell the natives (and those stranded with him!) about Jesus. What looked like a colossal mishap turned into an opportunity for Jesus to be shared! How’s that for an example of us not always seeing the big picture!
One of my favorite stories of faith is in three of the four gospels. Mark 5:25-34 is my favorite telling. Jesus was on his way to heal a daughter of a synagogue ruler. But something happens before he gets there. A woman, who has been sick for twelve years, touches his cloak. She had tried doctor after doctor, searching for healing, and had only gotten worse. But she had faith that just to touch a corner of his cloak would bring the healing she needed. And as soon as she did, she was healed. Then Jesus stopped and asked who touched him. He’s surrounded by a mob of people, all of them pawing at him along the way. Yet he knew that her touch was different. (In Luke, it says that he felt power leave him!) So the woman steps forward, and tells Jesus her story. His response? Jesus said, “Daughter, your faith has healed you.”
We are like this woman. When we have struggles, we put our faith in anything but God. We look to our own strength. We look to the abilities of our husbands, our friends, our pastors. Basically, we rely on anything we can see. But that is not true faith. Remember Hebrews 11:1—Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do NOT see. Do you know what happens when we rely on those tangible things for our strength instead of basing our faith on God? We end up like the sick woman who looked to doctors to heal her: worse off than when we started! And all the while, one touch of Jesus is all we really need, because there is power in it!
The most incredible part of this story is the question it creates. If we put our faith in Jesus, and can gain such incredible victory with just one touch of His garment, then how much more are we missing out on? How much more is there for us when we latch on wholeheartedly with both hands? When we put our faith completely in Jesus, we will see the God of the Bible working in our lives in ways we never thought possible. Doesn’t that just excite you?
Now I realize that faith is something that grows as you grow in your relationship with God. I also know that, while you may have great faith in one situation, you may be struggling in another. So having the kind of faith that many in the Bible had might take us a while. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t start building it now. What are you having trouble believing God about? What situation in your life seems hopeless right now? Start there!
The best way to grow in faith is to grow in the knowledge of who God is. That means scripture knowledge. Pick an area where you lack faith. Then, find a scripture passage that you can memorize to help you grow in your faith. Share both with the group. If you are fairly new in your walk and don’t know of a scripture passage that would be good, then say so. Maybe someone else can suggest a passage for you to memorize. Let’s use this blog for what it was intended: to grow in our relationship with God and to help others to grow also. Maybe you don’t have a scripture to share with someone, but that doesn’t mean you can’t help, too. Challenge each other! When you see each other at church, ask how the memorization is going. Pray for each other. Let’s do all we can to become women whose faith results in Jesus’ power mightily on display!
posted by Sonya Day | 3:12 PM
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