"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed." - James 1:5-6
Faith is a term used to describe many things. Some may use the word Faith interchangeably with religion. Some see Faith as fidelity. Others refer to Faith as trust. Faith is all these things.
When I think of the word Faith, I immediately think of it as whole, complete and certain trust in a promise. It is the utter confidence that what has been promised will be carried out. It is putting everything on the line based purely on the trust you have in a person or thing.
"Blessed is the man that trusteth the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is." - Jeremiah 17:7
What better place to put one's trust in God? God is the most trustworthy, constant and certain presence throughout eternity. He never backs out of His promises. The verse in Jeremiah above says that a person is blessed when their hope isn't just in the Lord, it is the Lord. This Faith in God is so attractive, so dynamic. In Hebrews 11:6 it says "But without Faith it is impossible to please [God]: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him."
Faith is so central to our relationship with God; for how stable can a relationship be without that trust, that confidence? But God is the rewarder of those who seek Him out, who ask Him for wisdom, who ask Him for understanding. We need to actively pursue God as He pursues us. We need to trust Him, cling to Him. In the book of James it says that a man who wavers, who does not place their Faith in God, is like a wave in the sea, simply tossed from here to there with no say in the matter.
Many will say that trusting God is easy. It is, but the journey to reaching that trust is the hard part. Letting go of the control we have over our lives, letting go of our desires and letting go of the plans we make; this is difficult. We shelter ourselves, bulletproof our little houses in this world were nothing is certain. We hide the vulnerability we all have inside of us. Our insecurities become lost under a blanket of empty smiles. When we place our trust in God, our Faith in God, we open up that vulnerable part of us. We allow Him to work with us and to change us, and it hurts. It really hurts. It is scary, but God is gentle. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28 - "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." When we do open up and trust Him, He gives us peace and rest.
And then we are no longer a wave tossed about by the ocean. Then we allow God to move us in a direction, to direct our paths and our lives so that we can continue to grow, love and know Him more. That is when the trust becomes easy, because then God is the constant strength in our lives.
And so it is for this reason that we ask God to grow us in wisdom, to grow our Faith and understanding. Spending time in His presence is how we become closer to Him, and no place is safer than in the Saviour's arms.
I'm working on having faith just like you. I find myself hiding behind walls even when I should be more open and trusting. Like you said, "Our insecurities become lost under a blanket of empty smiles." Sometimes I forget that everyone is basically in the same boat--we ALL need a Savior, we're ALL imperfect. Thank you for this post. A wise friend of mine wrote this post about building a life of "lasting, satisfying faith" http://goo.gl/3vJe50. Enjoy! Let me know what you think!
ReplyDeleteHi Kendall! Thank you for your feedback, I appreciate it very much. You wrote: "I'm working on having faith just like you." I just want you to remember it is good to see how other people live, but don't aspire to "have faith" just like them. You need to have Faith in God, but it has to be your own faith. It is impossible to get to the Father in any way other than through Jesus Christ (John 14:6), so you have to be certain that you are choosing to trust God, not following someone else who appears to. I myself am still on the journey to completely trusting God. I still find it tough a lot of the time! But He is our strength, and when we struggle to have faith, we can always just ask for it. And thank you for sharing the link to the post about lasting and satisfying faith. I enjoyed reading it, and found the idea that belief is a choice rings very true. Remember, the closer you draw to God, the closer He draws to you. Blessings, Aleisha.
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