What does it mean to have true faith? To me having faith is letting go of control and trusting that something will turn out better that I may not even see in real-time. It can be hard to have faith in believing something good will happen even out of the darkest moments in life. “For we live by faith not by sight” 2 Corinthians 5:7. We need to remind ourselves that living a life of faith is sightless. Going out of our comfort zones and have faith that Jesus has something better for us once we learn to let go and lean into the unknown. Spoiler alert, God always has something better waiting for us on the other side of our worries and doubts. Having faith is easier said than done. I don’t like going out of my comfort zone or stepping out into the unknown. Keeping faith that Jesus has something good out of the bad for His glory is just as difficult to comprehend. When you’re in a deeply dark time of your life and nothing seems to be going your way or it just keeps going downhill just keep faith in knowing that there will be an uphill ride soon and God has something amazing waiting for you. Sometimes I like to remember a quote that says, “sometimes the toughest battles are for the strongest soldiers” and I like to think that God gives us some pretty tough battles not only to strengthen us but so we can learn to have true faith and know that He always has something good after the battles we go through. It may not even be our definition of good but HIS definition of good. He always has our best interest at heart. What we need and want He knows but also knows what we truly need and gives it to us when it is the right time. Faith is not easy, but it is not impossible to get accustomed to. We have faith in the most mundane things such as our chair. Having faith that it won’t break when we sit in it, or our car that it’ll just start and get us from A to B. I mean why can’t we have faith in Jesus like we do in the mundane things? Why is it so much harder to focus on Jesus during the tough times? I believe that’s how it’s supposed to be. I mean sure it stinks going through crappy things and circumstances, but if everything was so easy peasy lemon squeezy what would the need for Jesus be? What would the need for His love, His joy, and His mercy be? Why would we need a true relationship and true faith in God if everything was on easy mode? You see what I’m getting at? We go through these seasons so we can grow spiritually. To realize that He is always near and has our backs. Having faith and trust in Jesus is a very intimate thing that I believe we were created with and to use for the right reasons. Trust and faith to me means to let go of control and let God be God. Let go of everything you’re holding onto and know that He has it, He has you. Once you finally let go and give it to God you’ll begin to feel and realize just how freeing it is. Freeing to know there is no point in worrying about the past, present, or future because the one who created it loves you more than you can even grasp and knows how everything plays out. What an amazing thought. It warms my heart so much to know that the one who made me, and my life knows what’s going to happen and how my life will glorify Him. He loves me that much where He chose me to be part of His family in a time such as this. It is so much more than our minds can comprehend and I truly cannot wait for the day I will fully know and understand all the things He has for us. One thing to remember though is that faith won’t get you what you want. You may be putting your faith in Jesus for something that you want that fulfills your desire and I am here to tell you that is not how it works. You may get some things you do want but always putting your faith in Jesus in hopes to get your way out of it will not work in your favor. Because when the day comes you do put your faith in Him for a certain thing and He doesn’t give it to you, you’re not gonna be happy and wonder if He even loves you. Having faith in Jesus does not give you an advantage for what you want but rather an advancement for what you need for the kingdom of God. Maybe that loss you got, you ended up gaining something even better and you are able to use it to further the kingdom. I do know that nothing we go through goes to waste. Our pain has a purpose in the hands of God. A tough reminder but it’s the truth. He wouldn’t let us go through something without it having a purpose of some sort. We may never even know that purpose till we get to heaven. Another reason we need to have faith. We will know all the answers to our deepest questions once we get to heaven. I don’t know about you but for me, I have SOOO many questions I want to ask God. Some may even be silly but I’m sure He’ll enjoy every single one. But for now, while we are here on earth, we must remain in Him and trust that He has everything under control no matter the circumstance. Easier said than done of course but it is so much easier to remain in Him when we read the living word of God and spend time with Him in prayer. I will be honest my prayer life isn’t what it should be. I don’t pray as much as I should, and I feel like I always ask for things instead of just sitting there in silence in His presence. I really want to focus on praying more. Not only can we talk to Him, but we are able to sit in His presence and glorify Him even in hardships. I read a quote that says, “to pray is to breathe alongside God” and I can’t get over how beautiful that is. I believe it is so true, to sit, stand, kneel, close your eyes and just be there in the presence of God. Prayer, praise, and petitions to Him of anything your heart may desire is the most intimate thing we humans are able to do in a relationship with God. To fully surrender your body into silence to hear the words of God form in your mind is just a beautiful experience. Now you may not hear from Him every time you pray so do not be discouraged. You may hear Him speak to you in different ways. Such as through a song, a friend, family member, quotes or verses that pop up, words and sentences forming in your head that are different, or you may hear a slight whisper. Hearing from God is a unique experience for everyone so I can’t say which one you will have. I do know that He speaks to everyone who is able and willing to listen. There’s this saying I’ve read and heard quite a lot, “faith can move mountains.” Meaning, if we simply have faith in Jesus our mountains (aka hardships) can move to be a blessing in disguise. We can move our “mountains” if we have faith in God that He can do it and help us overcome anything we may face. Trust, true faith, and pixie dust (just kidding on that last one haha) but seriously, trust and true faith in God can get you anywhere my friend. Please remember that God is on your side and never against you. Everything we go through is for something we do not see, we need only to have the faith that God will use it for His purpose.
As always I truly hope you enjoyed reading this personal piece of mine. Please let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment and be sure to leave a like, it means a lot! It's been a while since I've posted a piece of my writing and it feels so good to be back on the writing grind. Some more pieces are on their way so make sure to keep an eye out! Thanks for reading!
P.s. Jesus loves you more in this moment than anyone could in a lifetime :)
~Purposefully, Pepper <3
