A Comfortable Faith

   The word "faith" is tossed around a lot.  People talk about "my faith" as if it is something that they own or created.  Faith is a gift from God.  { It says so in Ephesians 2:8,9 }.  It's nothing that we concocted or mustered up out of nowhere.   It is given to us as a gift.  Now we do EXERCISE our gifts of faith, and they grow and mature.  We progress in being able to relax and be comfortable in trusting God in everyday life.  But we should all be reminded of the source of our faith : it is not in and of ourselves.
  

    Because of the way people look at faith, when they talk about "having" faith, they are oftentimes tentative or mysterious about it.   In their minds, it has a pie-in-the-sky, mystical quality about it.  They say, "I'm just going to have to have faith," as if that is a last resort or the very last option on our list.   It is unfathomable to me why people would go to every other resource or look under every rock for an answer to their problems, before calling on God.

   It's just a question of relationship.  Most people "think" they have some kind of a relationship with God.  But in times of trial or testing, they become tense and upset, and they cry out to a God that they really have never known.   God has provided a way to a relationship with him, and not a formal or conditional relationship, but one in which we actually become his adopted sons and daughters through faith in his Son, Jesus Christ.  

   The title of this post is "A Comfortable Faith."  Jesus said that God would send us a Comforter, who is the Holy Spirit, to dwell, or live in our lives.   It is definitely a surreal or metaphysical truth.  We do not understand the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  That is, we cannot really explain it.  But he came by his Spirit to live within us.  We experience and know him. And he is there to comfort, encourage, teach, and lead us each and every day of our lives.

   It's funny how people don't recognize God in their lives, or look for a relationship with him, until they're suddenly in trouble and they have exhausted every single last option on their list.  They they turn and call on a God who they have never called on before.  My faith in God is not a "hurry-up-and-fix-it" kind of a faith.  It's a faith that daily believes that God is leading and guiding me, and has my best interests at heart.  It's a faith that knows that God cares for and loves me as his child, and has promised that nothing will happen in my life that he doesn't know about, and that doesn't have a purpose in his overall plan.  So when things come up that I don't understand or can't deal with, I know that he is STILL with me { he's been there all along }, and that everything will eventually work out for the best.

   When things are going well, we should thank God for it, and acknowledge his blessing.  But it's tempting to somehow think that when things go right for us, then somehow "we did it" or made it happen.  Of course, we put our energy and strength into certain personal achievements, but is our life something that we feel that we have manufactured or put together on our own?   God says that our earthly lives are fleeting and superficial.  So many times, we start thinking that we are invincible, or indestructible, when the truth is just the opposite.

    "Joy in life comes from trusting God."  

   I'm really glad that I have faith in my heavenly Father, and in his Son Jesus.  I feel sad for those people on earth who live their lives, in happy and sad times, without that knowledge in their hearts.   And it is not a fairy tale.  Not a made-up religious notion. It is a relationship that I cannot explain or see physically, but that I see the results of every day of my life.  It is a reality that we live by daily.  It is a relationship that is cherished and enjoyed.  And it is a relationship that will go on forever and ever.

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PRAYER:   Thank you God, for the reality of your presence in our lives.  I don't understand everything about you..  aaah.. I don't really even understand your existence.  But I do HAVE FAITH in you, and believe that you are with me each and every day.   And I believe that when we call on you, you hear us, and are able to give us what we truly need.  Increase our faith, and bring faith to those that do not know or believe in you.  Amen.