Posts Tagged: the process of faith

DO I TRUST GOD?

On September 23, 2016 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

Am I trust-worthy?

This is question I have been asking myself here of late.  There is evidence for a tentative “Yes!”  There is also evidence for a decisive “No!”

However, it occurred to me today that this is not even the right question.  The right question is, “Am I trusting God right now?”  Paul says that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is about faith from beginning to end (Romans 1:17).  At least, that is one possible understanding of the Greek phrase which may be literally translated “from faith to faith.”

Perhaps even clearer is what Paul writes to the Galatians.

“1 You foolish Galatians! Who has hypnotized you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was vividly portrayed as crucified?

2 I only want to learn this from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by hearing with faith?

3 Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now going to be made complete by the flesh?”

Paul is saying here that the life of the believer started with the Holy Spirit, and that the life of the believer continues and is completed by the work of that same Holy Spirit.  However, note that faith is also involved.  We received the Spirit “by the hearing with faith.”  Presumably, we continue to live in the Spirit in the same manner—by hearing accompanied by faith.

I am called to trust God moment by moment by moment.  Faith is to the soul what breathing is to the body.  No breath, no physical life.  No faith, no spiritual life.

Perhaps faith is also a muscle.  I develop my muscles little by little.  You can make instant oatmeal, but not instant muscle.

I develop better muscle tone and strength by regular, increasingly strenuous exercise.  And so it is with the muscle of faith: I trust God with little things, then with slightly bigger things.  Eventually, I will discover that God can all kinds of things I had never believed possible.

But then, muscles can atrophy, can’t they?   I remember being in a hospital many years ago.  I was shocked at how quickly my leg and arm muscles became weaker, and how long it took to get back to where I had been before the accident.

So, today is the day that the LORD has made.  Today is also the day the LORD has made for me to trust Him.  Each moment—by my attitudes, thoughts, words, and deeds—I am answering the question “Do I trust God?”.

And that is the question for all of us, isn’t it?

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