Faith When it Really Counts

With all the things going on in my life, I find it very important to talk about faith today.

I found it very easy to have faith throughout the last 7 weeks. That is, until I got direct opposition. Nobody is doing the “Job” thing and telling me to curse God. Nobody is telling me not to have faith and give in to despair. In fact, they are doing the opposite. As usual, their words mean nothing to me until I am ready to hear it. It is the events that sometimes slap me in the face. It is the way I receive those events, my perspective, which determines the outcome of my faith.

Last Friday my car overheated. After putting water into it (and 3 quarts of oil), it seemed fine, but the mechanic tells me that I blew out a cylinder. He fixed the overheating problem and several other issues for free (God’s blessing in the midst of trial). I can hear the blown cylinder in my engine. Yesterday, I went to take my brother-in-law to his physical therapist (he is learning how to use his prosthetic leg) only to find out that his Medical primary doctor has changed and now we have to jump through a hundred hoops just to get him back into therapy. Also yesterday, I went to the Worksource center (they work through the unemployment insurance) and found out that they will not put me through training to increase my employment odds until I go through their one-on-one job search program. It is all very frustrating.

Now to be honest, I must flip the coin and show the other side. I finally started getting my unemployment checks. I do have somebody at the Worksource center that will help my refine my resume and send me on job leads. The repair and diagnosis of my car was absolutely free. I got a possible new contact at the Worksource center that will tell me what needs to be done and what resources I have available in order to legitimately open my own computer repair business. I have friends that are supporting me and sometimes even giving me money to help out, and I have a wife that is extremely supportive.

See what I mean about perspective? It is not all dusty skies; there is a rainbow there as well. However, I tend to not see the rainbow.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:1 – NKJV

For we walk by faith, not by sight.
2 Cor. 5:7 – NKJV

If you focus all your attention on only what you can see, smell, taste, hear and touch you have no desire for faith. If your goal is to have more faith, then you need to discount the evidence that your eyes, nose, mouth, ears and fingers are giving you and just believe that God is faithful. Remember, just because you feel something, does NOT make it true. Your feelings lie all the time. Read this next verse and I believe my point will be made.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
2 Cor. 4:16-18 – NKJV

I have often said “When you pray for faith, God does not just give it to you; He gives you situations in which you can practice faith”. Faith is an earned skill, the same as patience. Sure, there are times when you “just have” faith, but consistent faith is something that you have to practice to achieve. This is the reason that I generally do not pray to God for faith or patience. I do not want the situations in my life where I should be practicing faith and patience. I do not want to grow. I do not want difficulties in my life. In fact, sometimes I pray for faith and patience in people that irritate me, but God pretends that I wanted those attributes in me, so I stopped doing that.

Our God, being a loving Father, sometimes does not wait for you to ask Him for faith; sometimes He gives you a gentle nudge forward and allows a situation where you can grow. But remember, there are two very valuable verses that can help in these situations.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Philippians 4:13 – NKJV

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
1 Cor. 10:13 – NKJV

“Faith” is mentioned in 248 times in the bible (according to biblegateway.com), 243 of those times are all in the New Testament. It looks to me that God views this as an extremely important topic. Go to www.biblegateway.com and type “faith” in the search box at the top of the page and you will get a full listing of all these verses.

But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”
Mark 4:40 - NKJV

After everything that goes on in my life, I have to ask myself this very question. I have to remind myself of all the things that God has done for me. The men that Jesus is speaking to in this verse are his apostles. They spend every day with Him. They heard His teachings, they saw the miracles and yet, even they had issues with faith. This passage alone gives me hope. If those who were daily close to Jesus had issues, then maybe I am not going through this alone. Maybe other people around me are having the same issues.

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Romans 10:17 - NKJV

Let’s make a list. I am a big fan of lists, a visual representation of something. For me, this is a huge help in reminding me of something important. Usually, it is just a task list for the day, or a “honey-do” list, but lists are extremely important to me.

So here’s the challenge. We will be making 4 lists. Gather your closest friends together. Yes, it is important that you do NOT do this by yourself. Having your friends with you can help you to see things you normally would not see. Have a bible study or just a fellowship meeting. Talk about what God has to say about faith.

1. Make a list of the passages about faith in the bible that stand out the most to you. Write the entire passage down. For me, writing helps place something in my long-term memory.
2. Make a list of the good (positive and uplifting) things (big and small) that you have experienced over the last 7 days
3. Make a list of the bad things (big and small) that God has allowed in your life over the last 7 days.
   Note: I did not say “Doing”. God does NOT do these things to you, He may allow them to happen, but generally that is to promote growth, a consequence of something you have done or even an answer to prayer (did you pray for faith or patience?). More on that in another blog entry.
4. Make a list of short-term goals and make 2 copies.
5. Trade the list of “Bad Things” things and the list of “Short Term Goals” with your friends. You just got your prayer list for the next week.
6. Keep the “Good Things” list and “Short Term Goal” list and tape it to a prominent location in your home. Someplace where you can see it often (bathroom mirror or refrigerator). Feel free to continuously add to the list. You might even transfer it to a wall calendar.
7. Pray and pray continuously. This is vitally important. The more you pray for your friends and family, the more you add to your faith. Your friends are praying for you as well.
8. Meet weekly and repeat these steps. Talk about what you have accomplished in the last 7 days. Discuss the “Bad Things” list and how things have changed or progressed.

You will be surprised how focusing outward and fellowshipping with others of like mind can help to stabilize your faith and even increase it.

Other things I have found that have helped increase my faith is getting out of my comfort zone and helping others. Feeding the homeless starts as feeling like a chore and grows into a very enjoyable experience that you tend to look forward too. Reading your bible and filling a lot of the silence with Christian music has helped me a lot as well.

That’s all for now. Check out the link I gave you and watch what you pray for, you just might get it.

Please feel free to comment on this article
In His name
~Charles P. Scott