My devotions recently have been all over the map. Rick Warren's devotions that come to my inbox had a series on heaven that I found to be a good reminder that our life on earth is temporary and that we need to live with the end in mind. There have been devotions on forgiveness and that seeking revenge is not what God wants us to seek in life. Devotions on ensuring that we are spending time growing our faith life through church community, reading the Word, and through prayer. There have been devotions on trusting God and what Faith is. In each devotion, I find I am able to glean knowledge and apply it to my life and it helps me to grow into who God desires me to be.
In Hebrews 11, we are reminded that faith is being sure of the things we hope for and that faith means knowing that something is real, even if we do not see it. Faith is a small word but it has such a huge meaning. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, "Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."
Faith is built upon our trust in God. God wants us to trust Him. But not to trust Him with things that we see or when things are going well. God wants us to trust Him even when we do not understand what is happening. When life is hard and nothing seems to make sense. It is easy to trust when all is going well but it is a different story to trust in Him completely when our life seems to be falling apart. When the seas are calm, and skies are clear we trust. But do we trust when we are in the midst of a storm? The strength of our faith is measured in this. A crisis reveals who we are and our character. Faith is being intentional. Faith is being deliberate. Faith is trusting and believe in God through the highs and the lows. Faith is walking through our fears, facing them, and trusting Him every step of the way. Is this easy? No. But when we know that God is in control, we need to have faith, we need to trust, we need to give control up to Him who is the one who is ultimately in control.
The power of prayer goes a long way in helping to develop our faith and in helping us to trust. A recent devotion from Girlfriends in God shared the following story of prayer.
During a storm, there was a shipwreck. Only two men were able to swim to a small deserted island.
Not knowing what else to do, they agreed to pray. To find out whose prayers were more powerful, they decided to divide the territory between them and stay on opposite sides of the island.
When the first man reached his side of the island, he prayed for food
when he got hungry. Then he prayed for a wife when he got lonely. Next
he prayed for a house, clothes, and more food. All of his prayers were
answered.
The second man’s side of the island remained barren.
The first man finally prayed for a ship so he and his wife would be rescued. The next morning, a ship was docked on his side of the island.
He and his wife boarded the ship. Since none of the second man’s prayers had been answered, he considered the man unworthy and decided to leave him on the island.
As the ship was about to leave, the man heard God’s voice, “Why are you leaving your companion on the island?”
“My blessings are mine alone since I was the one who prayed for them,” he answered. “His prayers were all unanswered. He doesn’t deserve anything.”
“You are wrong,” God replied. “He had only one prayer, which I answered. If not for that one prayer, you would not have received any of My blessings.”
The man asked, “What did he pray for that I should owe him anything?”
“He prayed that all your prayers would be answered,” God said.
It is so important that we pray for one another. That we uplift and encourage one another. Where would we be without prayer and without the direction of God leading in our lives? I am so grateful for my growing faith. It indeed is a journey of growth and is not always easy. I am thankful for many people who I have encountered on my journey that have been a testament to me and who challenge me and also help encourage me along.
What storms are you going through right now? How can I pray for you?
"I want to be diligent but reliant on God.
I want to be responsible but willing to risk for God.
I want to be bold but completely humble before God.
I want to run hard but be still with God.
I want His work to be richly evident in my life." ~Lysa TerKeurst
The second man’s side of the island remained barren.
The first man finally prayed for a ship so he and his wife would be rescued. The next morning, a ship was docked on his side of the island.
He and his wife boarded the ship. Since none of the second man’s prayers had been answered, he considered the man unworthy and decided to leave him on the island.
As the ship was about to leave, the man heard God’s voice, “Why are you leaving your companion on the island?”
“My blessings are mine alone since I was the one who prayed for them,” he answered. “His prayers were all unanswered. He doesn’t deserve anything.”
“You are wrong,” God replied. “He had only one prayer, which I answered. If not for that one prayer, you would not have received any of My blessings.”
The man asked, “What did he pray for that I should owe him anything?”
“He prayed that all your prayers would be answered,” God said.
It is so important that we pray for one another. That we uplift and encourage one another. Where would we be without prayer and without the direction of God leading in our lives? I am so grateful for my growing faith. It indeed is a journey of growth and is not always easy. I am thankful for many people who I have encountered on my journey that have been a testament to me and who challenge me and also help encourage me along.
What storms are you going through right now? How can I pray for you?
"I want to be diligent but reliant on God.
I want to be responsible but willing to risk for God.
I want to be bold but completely humble before God.
I want to run hard but be still with God.
I want His work to be richly evident in my life." ~Lysa TerKeurst
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