Driven by Faith

Part 1 voom voom...

“Faith is like a radar that sees through the fog- the reality of things at a distance that the human eye cannot see.” (Corrie Ten Boom)

“Driven by Faith” was written at a time when I was facing a lot of difficulties. A lot of things were going wrong. No matter how hard I tried, my efforts seemed to be in vain and I was slowly slipping into the depths of despair. No, I had started spiraling downwards, and writing was my escape . This series reminded me of who I was, from whom I came from, and who I served. It reminded me of God’s unending grace, love, loyalty, kindness and warmth. It reminded me that trusting in Jesus would never bring me disgrace, but Grace (can I get an amen). I belong to a chosen generation, I am a royal priest, citizen and resident of the holy nation, God’s very own possession. I belong to a kingdom that has no end- not even death has power there. It reminded me of what needed to be done. I was no longer driven by my ambition alone; I was driven by faith.

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As believers and followers of Jesus Christ, we are called to have faith. A belief in the one who left His heavenly throne, came down to earth, taught, raised the dead, healed the sick, made the lame to walk, the blind to see, the deaf to hear and a thousand million other miracles. But friends, there is a difference between believing that God exists, and believing in Him. Let’s get into what I’ve come to understand about what-encompassing, but not limited-faith is.

Faith Defined

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see (Heb 11:1)

I happen to like this particular translation from the New Living Translation- NLT Bible. It’s so easy to understand. Through their faith, people of old earned a good reputation with God (Heb 1:2). I’ll get to who those people were in a minute. Notice this passage does not mention that these people were perfect, or had the highest moral standing. The way I see it, faith is like a package-your attitude will automatically change when you’re in possession of such a precious package.

It is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him (God) must believe that God exists, and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him (Heb 1:6)

1. The entire universe was formed at Gods command from literally nothing! Abel offered his humble sacrifice of a young sheep to God with faith.

2. Sarah gave birth to Isaac at the old age of ninety, NINETY!!!

   Think of any ninety-year-old woman you know, now think of the said woman being pregnant. My mind is blown away trying to  picture such.

3. Enoch, Methuselah’s father was so close to God, that he “walked with God”, and was suddenly taken up into heaven- body and soul. Walking with God must have been such a huge flex, right?

4. Noah built the arc at the prompt of God.

5. He must have thought it odd that God would ask him to build such a ginormous structure when the rest of society went about their daily lives.

6. It was by faith that the Israelites marched around Jericho for 7 days, and guess what, the walls came crashing down.

  These people listened to God, and had faith that somehow, this tribulation they were facing would be dealt with, by God. They didn’t stop at day 3, or day 5, they walked till that stumbling block (wall lol) came crashing down. Furthermore, they used the ruins of what was formerly their stumbling block, as a stepping stone into the city of Jericho. Just look at that!

7. It was by faith that Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David-the boy child and king, Hannah, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego overcame their trials.   The entire 1st chapter of Hebrews is dedicated to faith.

8. Saints were ordinary people of faith that Jesus used as tools to perform miracles and win souls to Him. St Maria Faustina, St Agnes of Rome, St Augustine of Hippo, St Theresa of the Child Jesus, St Pio of Pietrecina, St Joseph of Cupertino. Christ being the body, and they the branches.

These great men and women of faith didn’t have easy lives, far from it. Some were thrown into pits of fire, skinned alive, molested, burned at stakes, mocked, criticized. Their lives were far from perfect, they fell, they feared, they were just like you and I. Through their unwavering faith and trust, God turned their sadness into joy, their weakness into strength, He gave them beauty for ashes. There’s a peace and inner joy that comes from believing that God “has got my back”. His peace that transcends all human understanding will keep our hearts and minds safe in Jesus Christ (Phil 4:7).

A working Faith

Faith is made up of three things: Knowledge, belief and trust- Spurgeon, C.H

• Knowledge

Knowledge comes from hearing the word and reading the word.  That 5 minutes rush-reading of the bible while rushing to work is something, but we can do better. Quote me anywhere, YOU WILL SEE AN IMPROVEMENT IN YOUR LIFE WHEN YOU TAKE OUT TIME to intentionally study the word of God reflected in the Bible. Not only that, but reading daily devotionals and other faith books. There is a motto I live by, it says “the more you know of a subject, the better you know about it”. It translates as if you want to know a particular thing better, you need to more of it. And how does one “know more ?” By spending more time with it, studying it, reading other peoples work about it, researching extensively. The same applies to our spiritual life. In order to grow spiritually, I’ve realized that more time needs to be spent intentionally reading the Bible and other works of faith, being mindful of the sort of music listened to (what’s your music playlist like *blinks twice), listening to  podcasts that talk on Christianity and its application in our day to day life (think Enjoying Everyday Life by Joyce Meyer and Explaining the Faith by Fr. Chris Alar). I really enjoy podcasts and music. I listen to them before bedtime, doing the dishes or laundry, on a walk, cleaning my room, cooking (Yvonne Says is not responsible for any burnt meals), basically anything that I’d be doing for an extended period of time. Keyword here is “intentionally”. It may sound like a lot of work, but it’s not.

Also, be mindful of the lyrics of “gospel” music. Allow the spirit to discern which actually speaks of God’s glory.

• Belief

Belief comes from knowledge. Through Him (Jesus) you believe in God, who raised him from death and gave Him glory; and so your faith and hope are fixed on God (1 Pet 1: 21). Demons also believe there is a God, they fear Him also. Whoever comes to God must first believe that He exists. That He is alive, active and interested in knowing your affairs. That by prayer, you can let go and let Him work in your life. Jesus said, “all things are possible for He who believes”.

Faith and belief work hand in hand, they’re like identical twins. You cannot distinguish the two, but each has its own characteristics. Now that you have the knowledge, what do you do with it? Do you just keep it in a tidy little box in the top shelf of your mind, or do use it extensively to overcome the enemy?

• Trust

“Trust and obey, for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey”- I can’t remember the composer

Do you remember this song? Did you sing it, or recite it? I sang it. In an advice to young people, Proverbs 3:5 says we should trust in the Lord with all our heart. To not lean on our own understanding, but to remember the Lord in everything we do and He would show us the right way. This is sound advice; don’t you think so? It’s such a comforting scripture to hold on to. God is always with us, He knows the “whys”, “hows” and “whens”. He knows the next step, the solution before the problem even forms. When things do not make sense, when things don’t go as planned or go terribly wrong. Jesus knows the way forward, the way out, and the way around.

“Remember the Lord in everything you do and He would show you the way out (Prov 3: 5)”

Trust not in what you already know, but trust in the one whose ways are higher than yours. Whose thoughts are not like yours, the one who knew you before you were born. Why rely on yourself when there is a higher power, a higher force, the one whose essence and existence are one, the one who was raised from the dead after three days all by Himself, the one who crossed the three realms- heaven, earth and hell. Why rely on yourself when you have a Supreme Being who loves you so much that He sent His only son to die for your sins, that He became man in order to relate with you on an equal ground. He suffered embarrassment, insults, temptations, betrayals, mockery and ultimately death for you and I. Why rely on yourself when you have Jesus so close and oh so ready to serve you. A whole God serving you! Jesus is available and ready at all times, you just have to trust Him wholeheartedly, without reservations, just trust, like a new born trusts His mother to provide all his needs. Trust.

Gods’ word is right and true, He is faithful in all He says. God even places His word above His very name. What he says He would do, best believe that He would do. If you’re just starting out, and not used to trusting, take it from me, you’ll need to be patient with God, and with yourself. Keep reading, there’s a sweet piece about patience in the next installment.

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A faith that has high efficiency focuses on the supremacy of God rather than the enormity of the problem. God already has the solution, all you need to do is ask- and be ready to act on it. Faith alone, without work/action is dead. For faith is made perfect through action.

So then, as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without actions is dead (James 2: 26).

Faith is not optimism. Faith goes way beyond that. Faith is not having a way out, but believing that God will provide a way out. Faith is despite being stressed out at work, taking a minute to cast your worries into the hands of Jesus and trusting that He would show you a way. Faith is trusting in the peace of God that is beyond human understanding- to calm fears, the anxiety, doubts. What does faith mean to you?

Song of the moment: He'll make it all right by Charles Jenkins & Fellowship Chicago

AUTHOUR’S NOTE

Thank you for reading thus far. Putting this out here was a very scary feat. My heart almost ran away from its enclosure. Someone call a doctor! I wrote the first edit months ago but it was put on hold because of my dissertation and some other road blocks. But praise be to God, my dissertation has been completed and successfully defended. God has, and is faithful.

This is the first installment in my faith series. Remember I said there’s a sweet piece about patience? Patience also brought his friends. There’s even a cell phone analogy in the series. How is faith and your smartphone alike? I have lots of literary goodies in my store for you guys, and I can’t wait to share.

Shalom.