My common sense will totally try and contradict the still, small voice. Every time…every stinkin’ time.
Do you ever get those wild thoughts, those lunatic impressions or giant glimpses of the future and you think, no way, that’s crazy and I don’t live in crazy town!
But if you’re like me you sometimes let that thought marinate and think…what if? Just what if it’s God directing me and not me just being hormonal or menopausal or a hundred other excuses we give for not taking a risk and daring to dream? It’s easy to brush those thoughts away because usually they require us to make a change. And I don’t like change. Change in behavior, change in environment, change in attitude. Okay, I admit it, I like the predictable parts of life. And the God I know is anything but predictable!
Here’s what I’ve learned about faith:
- if you can see it it isn’t faith.
- common sense is the enemy of faith.
- faith is a gift and we can ask for more of it.
- faith is spiritually discerned.
- faith asks us to believe in the impossible
Sounds like fun, doesn’t it? No wonder more of us don’t take God at His word. I know for me, it makes me uncomfortable. It disrupts my perfectly planned routine. It forces me to face my fears. It completely defies my common sense.
So, here’s what I know after traveling with God for more than 35 years.
- If you can see it, it isn’t faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. It’s like a shadow that your prayer and belief and vision will put substance to. What starts as a shadow, an inkling, passing thought or knowing will cause your common sense to rise up and try to shut it down.
- Common sense is the enemy of faith because it’s common. Faith is unique, unusual, exotic and courageous. Yes, courageous because it takes courage to act on the unseen. To jump into God’s plan and throw caution to the wind! Most of us will never take God up on His offer to step into adventure with Him, to walk in the place of the unseen and spiritually bungee jump with Him into the place where dreams are born.
- Faith is a gift. We can ask for more of it. I did, years ago. I remember telling God, I don’t just want faith – I want GREAT FAITH! I wanted to believe for gigantic things for myself, my daughter, my husband. Let me tell you when you pray that prayer, God answers and it’s not always in the way you hoped! I thought He would make me more spiritual. He used it to make me more humble. He caused me to depend on Him in ways I never imagined but He proved over and over that He is enough.
- Faith is spiritually discerned. My natural man and spirit man are at odds and I won’t be able to figure it out with my intellect or common sense. I’ve learned to let go of what I know and come to Him as a child.
- Faith asks me to believe the impossible. Like believing for a miracle of divine healing or provision for a desperate need. Or believing your child has a phenomenal future ahead of him or your life can leave a lasting impact on others. He teaches me to call those things that are not as though they are. Don’t you just love that about God? It sounds so easy but it drives me to my knees!
I’m learning to walk in faith day by day, sometimes moment by moment, hand in hand with God. Many days my prayer is, “I believe Lord, help my unbelief!” It’s a process and it has it’s ups and downs.
Oh, and our faith will be tested. How else can you develop faith unless God gives you something you have to believe Him for because He’s the only one who can provide it? He has to test us in it and here’s why:
Faith is just a doorway.
A doorway into trust.
And that dear friends is the ultimate goal, the ultimate God Dare. Knowing and believing every day that He has my best interests at heart.
If I were to really go bungee jumping I’d want to be absolutely certain that the person in charge knows what he is doing and has taken all the proper safety measures. As I step out on the edge of the cliff, I’d have to pray the cords are tight and the harness is fastened correctly before I take that bungee plunge. Holding my breath and squeezing my eyes shut I count to three and jump. So far, He’s always been there to catch me.
What about you? Have you bungee jumped with Him lately?
Peach Butter