As you can imagine, I received a lot of interesting comments regarding my last blog post. I’ll spare the details, but the best way to describe it would be to call it mixed reviews. Some readers were challenged by our display of faith and some were annoyed that we seemed to be advocating for irresponsible behavior. I took it all in stride and chose to see it as yet another life moment teaching me yet another life lesson:
Some people will get you, and some people won’t. What matters is that every step you take and every choice you make is based on your obedience to Him and your response to the call He has on your life.
But the whole scenario did get me thinking about what truly makes a person’s faith great.
Do I think everyone who read my last post is now going to have to sell their house and move to a different part of the country? No. Was selling my house even the point? No. Was selling my house the biggest step? Not at all. Was selling my house a big deal in the grand scheme of life? Not so much.
It’s not about houses, and families, and friends, and comfort, and jobs, and security, and logic, and location, and controversial blog posts. It’s not even about us. It’s about Him – our willingness to follow no matter the call, our readiness to obey regardless the cost, our desire to step into His Will for our lives, and our determination to trust despite fear.
That’s all He wants – that our faith be bigger than our fears as we step into change, into freedom, into growth, into obedience, into perseverance, into unchartered territory, into faith, into the so much more of only He knows what.
Take out “house” and insert “school.” Take out “school” and insert “business venture.” Take out “business venture” and insert “adoption.” Take out “adoption” and insert “get healthy.” Take out “get healthy” and insert “job change.” Take out “job change” and insert “stay put.”
For some of you He might be asking you to get out of debt, and that’s gonna take a whole lotta faith.
For some of you He might be asking you to stop worrying so much about your children.
For some of you He might be asking you to sit down at the piano and write those songs that are burning in your heart.
For some of you He might be asking you to quit your job.
For some of you He might be asking you to be content exactly where you’re at.
For some of you He might be asking you to pray more than you think.
Whatever the face of your circumstance, faith is not about the head knowledge as you try to wrap your mind around logic, rationale, and human comprehension in your attempts to “figure it out.” Faith is the acknowledgement of your heart as you surrender control, as you stand upon the promises of His Word, as you trust in a God of the supernatural believing with steadfast hope that He has your best interest at heart.
Whether this season finds you running harder than you’ve ever run before, or at a complete stand still needing patient faith to persevere… whether this season has you selling stuff, relocating, and shaking up every comfort zone in your entire life, or smack dab in the middle of the monotonous mundane… whatever it is… whatever the face… however big or small… our most significant steps of faith are not when we “sell our house to pursue faith,” they are the everyday moments of breathing in His grace and breathing out His praise.
Lord give me strength. Faith.
Is this Your will? Faith.
Will you fight for me? Faith.
Please lead me. Faith.
Move through me. Faith.
Give me patience to endure. Faith.
I’m kinda freaking out here, help! Faith.
What would you have me to do? Faith.
That’s it?
Yep, that’s it.
Your greatest act of faith is not some big fancy power play with glitzy glamour and dramatic flare.
Your greatest act of faith is when your surrendered heart can truthfully and humbly say, “Not my will, but Yours be done.”
