Cornerstone Blog

Thursday, Jan 26th 2012

Do You Have It? by Nate Yoder

Faith is one of those things that is hard to clearly define.  People have lots of different definitions for what faith is, and what it looks like but most people would probably agree on this; faith is decidedly uncomfortable.  In fact, it’s downright scary at times.  It doesn’t seem natural for us to rely on something unseen to help us through a difficult time. 

Now some people may argue that faith gets easier with time and I would agree with them at least to some extent.  When you have trusted God with something, it becomes easier the next time to rely on Him for the same or similar things when they come up again.  But with each new area of life that is thrown at us (relationships, money, adulthood, marriage, kids, teenagers, work, and retirement to name just a few) we have a choice whether or not to trust God with that area of our life and when you give a new area of your life to Him, there’s always a bit of uneasiness involved otherwise it isn’t faith at all.

Because of this, I believe faith isn’t something you strive to get and once you have it, then you’ve arrived.  In fact the opposite might be true.  If there’s nothing in your life right now that you’re doing for God that isn’t at least a little unnerving, then what part does faith play in your life?  If everything is just peaches and life with Jesus is easy, then its possible your faith muscle isn’t being stretched like it should be. 

Don’t get me wrong.  All those things you’ve gone through by faith aren’t null and void.  Those things absolutely helped to grow you and those around you and are definitely evidence of a life of faith.  But faith is more about the here and now than the past.  We haven’t been called to “have faith until you look like a Christian.”  We’re called to have faith in everything we do.  Colossians 3:17 (CEV) says “Whatever you say or do should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, as you give thanks to God the Father because of him.”   

So what’s the one area in your life that you’ve been waiting to trust God for?  A relationship?  The kids?  Money?  Your spouse?  Your retirement activity?  There’s a reason you haven’t trusted Him in this area yet.  It worries you.  It’s scary.  But that’s what faith is about.  Relying on God for what seems to be impossible.  If you’ve got no other faith challenges in your life at the moment, and you’ve been putting off trusting God in an area of your life you know He wants to take care of, then maybe it’s time to stretch your faith muscle a bit and trust Him in that area today.  Ask Him what adventure He wants to take you on and let Him know you want to join Him on the ride!

Be a witness,
Nate