Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

Do you know that God has AMAZING plans for your life? Plans you could NEVER dream of?  And the best part? He gives us all we need to accomplish these plans in our lives, along with grace, hope, and peace.  He gives us the strength to carry out His will for our lives.  He gives us REST when we need it the most... He is our greatest comforter.

 

 “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
    “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
⁹ For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so my ways are higher than your ways
    and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. –Isaiah 55:8-9

 

“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. –John 14:27

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. –Hebrews 11:1

For we walk by faith, not by sight. -2 Corinthians 5:7

What’s the catch?  Faith.  We can only live out this amazing life God has planned for us, if we live it out by faith.

 

Faith is ‘the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see’.

 

Let’s look at Hebrews chapter 11...

3 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.

6 And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

7 It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God...

8 It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going... Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.

This chapter goes on to show the immense faith of those who believed in God’s promises: Sarah believed that God would keep His promise and bring her a child, Abraham was ready to sacrifice his son because of the immense faith he had in God, Jacob blessed his children because of his faith, Joseph proclaimed that the people of Israel would leave Egypt, Moses left Egypt not fearing the king’s anger, and finally, Rahab protected the disciples and in doing so, was not destroyed with the rest of her people in her city who refused to obey God.  These people showed great faith in God, without being able to SEE how everything was going to work out for them.  They believed; they trusted.

 

God, let us trust you with this kind of faith.

I love verse 27!  ‘It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger. He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible.’

What faith Moses had to not even care what the king would do to him, but to just continue to trust in the one true GOD.

It then goes on to explain what feats people made by having faith in God, and also what consequences they had to endure for doing so.  Even though God has set before us an amazing journey doing His will, it WILL cost us... and sometimes, the cost is our lives (whether that be giving up your own plans for your life, or giving up your physical life).  Is it worth it to you?

All of these people did these things BY FAITH.  It was by faith that they lived fully for God and were blessed beyond measure.  The following were the characteristics of these people of great faith:

• followed God’s call solely by faith not knowing where they were going
• sacrificed for God and gave him acceptable offerings
• lived righteous lives
• pleased God
• believed God exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him
• their actions showed they served Him
• confidently looked forward
• believed God would keep His promise
• agreed they were foreigners and nomads here on this earth
• always were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland
• they were not afraid
• chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin
• suffered for the sake of Christ
• kept their eyes on God
• obeyed in the midst of terrifying circumstances
• obeyed and followed God even when no one else could understand

Do any of these things portray the type of faith that you have?  Why or why not?  What can you do to become more like these great pillars of faith?  And remember—all of these people had struggles, made mistakes, and had major weaknesses to overcome.  Yet, their weaknesses turned to strength through their faith.  Let us who claim to have faith live out our lives like this! Don’t miss out on God’s blessings and plans for your life because of disobedience or fear.

God has amazing plans for your life (and mine, too!)  Don’t be scared to take that step, to listen to that still, small voice, or to respond to that little tug on your heart.  Just because you can't "see" something happening or it doesn't make much sense, doesn't mean it isn't God's will for your life.

Don’t delay; respond to God in faith today.

What Next?

As my heart gets heavier and heavier, I feel compelled to write.  Lately, I have been contemplating my current situation.  I want to be in the center of God’s will.  I want that more than anything because I know that when I am focused on God; when He is #1 in my life; when I truly am seeking Him... then that is when I am in the center.  I am in the center of my God’s perfect will and that is where I can find all the fullness of joy.  This is what I want in my life: joy.  I want peace and a passion for life.  I desire to give myself to the work that God has planned out for my life.  God says that He knows all of our days.

Psalm 139:16 reminds me, “All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.”

This gives me hope.  Hope that God is in control and He KNOWS my entire life.  And right now... I feel like it’s come to a fork in the road.  Whether that means that I need to completely change my course, or if that means I need to stop and wait for direction, I don’t know.  I guess that’s what God means when He says to trust Him.  Trust that He will guide us in the right direction in His perfect timing.

His perfect timing.

This is the question of my life—what is God’s timing?  When do we know when God says... “Okay, this is next”.  Is it some secret point in our lives that when God says “go” you better get your butt moving and go?!  I don’t think so... I’m slowly realizing that God WANTS us to know his timing.  He WANTS us to know His will and to seek Him and to KNOW that we are pleasing Him with our lives.  This is the epitome of His love for us—that He promises that He will never leave us nor forsake us.  That He will guide us, protect us, stick by our side, and have our backs even when no one else does.

I guess this is just my struggle right now. I want to know so badly that what I am doing in my life is pleasing to Him... and maybe that’s right where I need to be.

Maybe standing in the midst of not knowing my future and not knowing what’s next is where God’s perfect will resides.

Maybe not having everything figured out and living the perfect, cookie-cutter, American-standard way of life is how God wants me to live my life.

Maybe, JUST MAYBE... this is what He would want from all of us.

Do you have joy and passion in your life? What you spend the majority of your time doing... is it using the gifts that God has given you to glorify Him with?  Are you being all He created you to be?  And in return, are you finding peace and joy in those things?  Or is your life just a constant cat and mouse chase of making more money, getting a higher degree, or buying the nicest house or fanciest car and hoping that ONE DAY you’ll be able to say that you are “set” for life?  What does that even mean?!

Is your life spent constantly worrying about your future, trying to figure out every single step of the way, and not trusting that God has it all in His hands?

These are the things that have been on my heart. These are the things I know are my struggle.  So what if I don’t know my future?  So what if I don’t have the best job in the world or make the most money or drive the nicest car or even own a home?  What is home anyway?  Aren’t we supposed to make heaven our destination and this world just a temporary place where we can spread His name while honoring and glorifying Him in the midst of our circumstances?  Isn’t this world just a constant coming and going of life events that either make us or break us?  What is our purpose?  What is this life for anyway?

Having a great job?

Having a nice house?

Having a college degree?

Having a perfect family?

Being the healthiest, most active person?

Being perfectly in style and up-to-date with fashion?

Owning the newest smart phone and having all the apps humanly possible?

Looking like you have it all together?

And if these things are the reason for living... what fulfillment is found in them?

My heart has been so heavy lately because I see myself being pulled toward this world and frankly—this is NOT my home.  I am yearning for God to teach me to just TRUST.  Trust He has me.  Trust He will work things out.  Trust He has something absolutely amazing in store for my life... so much more than it is right now; so much more than I can think of or even imagine; a life that radically shows that He is God of all; a life that honors Him and fills me to the core of my being... and not forgetting to be thankful during this time of waiting.  He has my life and my heart and He will guide me and won’t let me mess everything up.  And He promises to do this in the lives of those who love Him... so that means you.  He will help you just like He is helping me through this journey.  I am just looking for His direction and waiting on His timing.

So, I guess the next question is—“Okay, God... what next?”

All Sons & Daughters - 'Called Me Higher'

Take Captive Every Thought

 

Thoughts.  They can encourage us or tear us down.  They give life and death to our situations.  Thoughts are the fuel to the actions we make and can direct our lives in either a positive or negative way. 

Thought, as defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary: the action or process of thinking... a serious consideration... reasoning POWER... a developed INTENTION or PLAN... the intellectual product or the organized VIEWS and PRINCIPLES of a period, place, group, or individual.  Seems to me that thoughts are pretty important in our lives and weigh heavily on our actions.

Numerous studies have shown that thoughts have a direct impact on our attitude, understanding, and our dealings with other people.  This is why it is so important to make sure we are aware of our thoughts and what we let run through our minds.  It’s the very reason that Paul heads to the church of Corinth to demolish LIES and false things that they might be led to believe.  Paul tells us to imprison our thoughts and to make them obedient to Christ, the light and TRUTH of the world.  So you choose—whether to believe lies or to believe the truth that sets us free.

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. –2 Corinthians 10:5

To “take captive” implies that we make our thoughts prisoners.  They are not free to just roam our minds uncontrolled.  They are kept within the bounds of the truth of Christ... they need to be controlled and directed by His truth.

I found an awesome little list based off of Philippians 4:8 that can help us do so. It has helped me a lot recently to re-align my thoughts with God’s Word and to regain the peace and confidence that I need to make it through the day.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. –Philippians 4:8

1.       What is true? (What is true about you and your situation?)

2.       What is noble? (How can you handle this situation in a noble way?)

3.       What is right? (Is there a righteous response to this fear?)

4.       What is pure? (How can you respond in a way to keep your heart devoted to God?)

5.       What is lovely? (How can this fear be worked for good?)

6.       What is admirable? (Who has overcome a similar fear: how did they do it?)

7.       What is excellent and praiseworthy? (How can you respond in a way that keeps you from sin and brings praise and glory to God?)

“God often uses pain as a means of drawing our attention off ourselves and on to Him. It is a beautiful process for us to see this pain as a means of helping us refocus our attention on our Savior, who is our provider and source of strength... this is all a part of the sanctifying process. Jesus promises the peace that surpasses all understanding. This does not mean a perfect, pain-free [life], but rather the calmness to embrace God as your strength.” -Passionate Homemaking

And you know what God promises to those who fix their thoughts on Him? Perfect peace. That is what I want for me and for you; peace is what I yearn for.

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you. --Isaiah 26:3