F A I T H

Ya'll. God is SO good! Even when I doubt. Even when I lack faith. Even when I lean on my own understanding. Even when I stress. Even when I worry. He's STILL good. In fact, I would even go as far as to say that He is even BETTER to me during those times. Because it's in those times that His compassion and mercy is made all the more perfect. And yet I still find myself doing all of those things from time to time, as if I have no recollection of how He has blessed me before, and the time before that, and the time before that, and the...you get the point.

Have you ever told someone you were going to do something and they replied with "I'll believe it when I see it"? Or maybe you yourself have used that phrase in response to someone else. Either way, think about how much weight we really put into that phrase.

We live in a world where our flesh tells us that in order for us to believe in something we actually have to see it with our own two eyes. Yet faith tells us that we can (and should) believe in what we cannot see. I was listening to a sermon the other day where the preacher said "do you trust what you see more than you trust what God says?", and that question instantly became real to me.

When it seems like everything that can go wrong is going wrong in your life, do you choose to trust what you see or do you choose to trust what God tells you in His Word? That He will never leave you nor forsake you. That He shall supply all your needs. That all things are working together for your good. That you will reap a harvest if you faint not...

It is so easy for us (as Christians) to get sidetracked from what we KNOW to be true. Especially when we allow what we see in front of us and all the noises surrounding us to drown out His voice. I once read a quote that said

"The voice of the Lord is at a constant volume, the only time you can't hear Him is when the noise level of your life rises above the volume of His voice."

Yes. So true. I'll be the first to admit to that. That is why it is important that we stay connected to Him so that we can be in tune with Him enough to hear His voice in this noisy world. His Word promises us so much but it is up to us to receive and believe in those promises. Yes we will face hardships, difficulties, and the struggle will always be real (lol). But our attitude while experiencing them is what should set us a part from the world.

In fact, His Word says that we should "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything". James 1:2-4

Everything that we go through has a purpose. No matter how good or how bad it is. Every single thing that God takes us through is just a small piece to an even bigger puzzle.

Last week I planned on baking a cake for my boyfriend. I bought the cake mix, the eggs, the icing and even decorations to go on top. Then when I got home I realized that I had the wrong kind of oil. So even though I had every other ingredient needed to make the cake, I still couldn't because I lacked that one thing. I mean I could have used the oil I had, but it would have left a very noticeable and unpleasant taste lingering throughout the cake.

It would have looked really pretty on the outside, but once he took that first bite he would have noticed a difference on the inside. And just like that cake needed all of those ingredients in order for it to taste the best it could taste, we need all of the stuff that God takes us through in order to be the best that we can be.

So don't settle or stress over what it looks like right now. Trust and believe that even though it may not feel good to you, everything you go through is good for you. It's all working together to get you to where God is trying to take you. You just have to have that faith.

He's faithful and He cares.

"Before you doubt God doubt your doubts." -Joseph Solomon