Faith Is Believing

¹¹For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11 NLT

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Faith is a funny thing. I mean we all need it to survive. We have to believe in certain things to make it day to day even if it is that the day will end soon or that tomorrow will be a better day. Sometimes though we have to admit that it is hard to believe in things and other people let alone ourselves. To take it a step further, it is harder to believe that other people believe in us when we know how much we believe in ourselves and we realize the levels don't always match. Our faith can be affected by so many different factors that we have no control of. But I imagine that the biggest factor that affects our faith is ourselves (at least it is in my life).

We all have a preset connotation of what we think we are capable of doing. We all know that we have limits and boundaries that are hard for us to surpass. Then God comes into the picture. In my life He has asked me to go beyond those limits that I had set for myself and go into areas I would never had thought of entering and do things that I had never considered or brushed off if I had thought of them. I would never had thought that at this point in my hearts desire would be to minister the Word of God to the world and make disciples out of as many people as possible. I didn't think that I would be equipped, qualified, or even wanting to accomplish a task like that.

Looking back into the Bible we see that this frame of mind and the call of God were a common thing amongst those who had called. Moses was fearful that the call God had given to him was far too great for his abilities. He didn't speak well and was not the leader God was asking him to be. There is something that Moses never considered and sometimes we fail to remember if God calls us he is going to make sure that we have all that we need to succeed in His calling. His glory depends on our success. God provided Aaron to Moses to be his spokesman. He provided signs and wonders to help establish Moses as the Messenger of God in the sight of the Egyptian Pharaoh. God also called Abraham into a new and strange land that would be his promised land for him and his generations that would follow. He left his home with his family based solely on the promise that God would fulfill His promise and deliver him a new homeland where he and his family would prosper. The Bible says that he stayed in that new land as if he were living in a foreign land living in tents as if he were a visitor and not the new owner. I am sure (only because he was human) that there were times in the tents when he was unsure of what he had heard and questioned his own faith. I am also sure (since his promised land was established and his generations were blessed and prosperous) that he realized that Gods glory depended on the fulfillment of His promises and His faithfulness to see them to completion.

I have come to realize that Gods glory depends on my success in accomplishing His will and purpose. As long as I take my direction from God and His word then I will be successful in all I undertake. I have also come to realize that God is big. Real big. He sees the whole picture where we might only be privy to what we see in front of us. He sees what we see plus what is in the future, what is behind us, and the other players on the board and their moves. He sees the outcome and directs us to that goal. I also know now that when God asks me to go somewhere that is unfamiliar to me or to do something that is uncomfortable for me that I am never alone. He goes with me and ahead of me.

I guess I have said all of this to hear myself say: if God believes in me, has chosen me and has faith that I can do His will and serve His purpose, who am I to argue?

catcmo2006