Wrangling with faith

Have you ever noticed that in one situation you encounter, FAITH just seems to rise up from your heart and you suffer barely a moment of concern?   Then another situation appears, and FAITH seems to have deserted you entirely?

Why does this happen?  How do we overcome the barriers to unleashing our faith?

Walk with me through a little exercise that may not only help us understand this but may even lead us to the answer of how to overcome these seeming barriers to unleashing faith in every situation we encounter!

The original bathroom - YECH!!

Recently we were blessed to purchase a home.  When we first walked through the house, it looked like this: 

Knowing this wasn't acceptable, we set about doing what it took to change this room so it would meet our needs and be pleasant to be in.  Now, it looks like this:

New bathroom

Amazingly enough, we have completely forgotten what the room used to look like because we no longer see it the old way on a regular basis.  We see this new room, so when we imagine our bathroom, the new room is what we see in our minds eye.  FAITH works like that.  If you have been praying, reading your bible, spending time with likeminded believers and receiving constant reminders of Gods love, Gods grace and all the reasons you have faith in the Lord to begin with, when you are confronted with a situation, faith rises up in what seems almost a natural manner, since it has been constantly in the forefront of your thinking.  The old way of fear is replaced by the new way of faith.   So why is it that the next situation we encounter, faith seems but a distant memory?  The question to ask ourselves at that point is, what have we been keeping constantly in our hearts?  What thoughts are we harboring?  Is there unforgiveness or bitterness we've allowed to overshadow the trust in God we held?  Are we reading His word as a constant reminder of WHO He is and how much He loves and cares for us?  Usually when faith seems distant, we find that it isn't faith, but we who have grown distant.  Distant from the daily bread we truly cannot survive without.

This happens because everyday we go about our lives, listening to music or news casts or watching TV programs or being bombarded at work and other places with a constant stream of negatives and worldly viewpoints that begin to replace the picture we hold in our hearts of our place in the world, our place as a beloved child of God Almighty.  The truth actually begins to dim in our hearts, without the constant reminder of it through daily reading of Gods word, daily prayer and time with our God, and fellowship with others who believe and trust in the Lord.

This is why we read (eat) our Bible (bread of life) on a daily basis.  This is why we encourage others and list reading schedules and give away bibles and constantly go on about putting Gods Word into our heads and our hearts.  Without it, we FORGET.  When we forget, our faith falters.  We are less certain that God, who met our need last time, will indeed meet it this time. 

If you've been following us, you know that for the last 2 years, we've been harping on DAILY READING OF GODS WORD.  Now you know why.  Reading the bible reminds us of who we are - Ambassadors for Christ.  Otherwise, we forget.  We get caught up by the ways of the world, and then we struggle with things God didn't intend us to struggle with, like faith and trust in Him.  He never changes.  But we do.  In order to stay on a path of righteousness, we need daily reminder of what the path looks like, and where it is taking us.

So we encourage you to read, daily.  Our reading schedule is designed to follow our eating pattern, since Gods word is our daily bread.  A chapter in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one in the evening.  A well fed spirit will not find itself short on faith.  I can promise you that.  More importantly, God promises!

Psalms 34:8  Oh taste and see that the Lord is good!  Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!  

As you journey down this road of faith, we would be blessed if you shared your travel adventures with us!  How has reading Gods word changed your life?  What ways has reading strengthened you and helped you through difficult times?  Click on comments below, and encourage others with your testimony!

We're praying for you!  Prayer requests are at the top left.  Prayer changes things - let us pray for your specific needs!