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Why does having faith in God have to be so difficult? Why didn’t He just say, “Hard work is the solution to all things”? I mean come on, get real; wouldn’t my life be better if I worked harder at the things I wanted? Hard work has its rewards, no doubt about that. However, to accomplish all God has for you, it’s going to take more than your coordinated motor functions to achieve.
Faith is a spiritual concept and habit that has tangible rewards. The truth is that we are so used to our plans and agendas being at the center that the idea of faith creates an instant hurdle for us. To put it more bluntly, we want to be – and have been – lord of our own lives. Control much?!
If we are honest, we put our faith in lots of menial things that have no spiritual genesis. We believe chairs will hold us up when we sit down. We believe our tastebuds will work when we eat that delectable slice of cake. We even believe when we jump, we will come back down and land on our feet that thrust upwards in the first place. It’s like we’ve simplified our life and our own abilities into a simple equation: if/then.
Why the difficulty then when it comes to believing in God? You understand how a chair works, you understand how your tastebuds work, you even understand how your legs and feet work. The plan of God rests in the unknown.
What if I told you your life could be greater than it is now
The Bible in totality offers us heaps of narratives that give us experiential knowledge into the person of God and His plan for the earth and ultimately His plan for you. Most of us don’t actually take time to understand the character of God, so, when a pivotal decision comes up that requires faith, we default to our own abilities and understandings. If we follow our simple equation that we established earlier, it looks something like this: if I don’t know God, then I will not trust his plan for my life. A little bit deeper. If I don’t trust the infallible character of God, then I won’t trust the results either.
“No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you. “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them.”
Joshua 1:5-6 NLT
Joshua had seen, heard, felt and experienced the God of Moses, and it was incredible to say the least! But Joshua still needed a little push to be courageous and brave to step into a new place of leadership. I like to define faith as trusting God to be everything He says He is. So, God reassures Joshua that He will continue to be who He says He is. The God that Joshua has seen, heard, and felt. That, in itself, eliminates the unknown at the beginning of our equation. Now, let me propose this. If the infallible character of God starts the equation and we leave the results to the same infallible character, the only variable is… us and our lack of faith.
As Joshua moved forward in faith, we see God’s plan become tangible for Him and all of Israel. Pastor Tony Lutyk says it like this: “Faith is progressive in what it demands of us.” The difficulty is in continuing to trust God in the unknown. What if I told you your life could be greater than it is now and the only hurdle for that was you? Do you trust that God has incredible things planned for you and the only thing required is total faith in Him? Let me lay it out more simply:
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