10/27/10

Authentic Faith.

Do you think you have it?

What is "Authentic Faith", you ask?

It is where you trust God in all things... not just on Sundays.

It is when you are faced with a challenge you look to the Lord and not your own ideas or ways.

I will be honest, I have not always had authentic faith. I will even go further and say that I just began having more of that 5 years ago.... and the Lord is continuing to work with me on that.

Yes, I had faith that the Lord saved me and I was going to Heaven.

But faith is so much more than that.

In the last year the Lord allowed me to face a personal challenge that rocked my world and caused me to go crashing to my knees realizing I was nothing without Him.

I am so thankful for that rocking of my world. I am thankful for the journey.... doesn't necessarily mean I would love to go through it again. :)

Through that time I have learned how to really step out on faith and BELIEVE that God is going to make things the way He plans. I had all of the words to say that in years prior, but to REALLY believe it is another thing. He has taught me to stop thinking on what I think, but to put it all in His hands and trust Him completely. That is something hard for a control freak like me, but I continue to learn that nothing is too hard for God.

In the last few weeks I faced a physical challenge... one where I was uncertain whether I had cancer or something minor.

In those days of waiting and wondering I began to do more soul searching than I had already been doing in the last year.

There was a peace about me during that time that I know could only come from the Lord because I kept giving my worries over to Him. I had gotten to the point where I told the Lord that whatever He chose I would trust. I was no different than other people who had faced the same things. A year ago I wasn't able to do that. A year ago I would have been a nervous wreck.

The Lord worked out the issue in the way that was positive. However, it got me thinking: "What if the Lord had seen fit to put me through something that was not so pleasant?"

I kept thinking of Job. I kept thinking of how God never left Job's side through all that he was put through.

I was reminded that God has never left my side either.

I can now understand a little more of "Authentic Faith."

I can see how the Lord is continuing to fine tune me to be Who He wants me to be. When I continue to give my worries over to Him He fights the battle for me. Giving over not just the big things in life, like my issue, but giving Him the little things: like my attitude, how I respond to others, etc....

That is when "Authentic Faith" is found.