"I do not want merely to possess a faith, I want a faith that possesses me." - Charles Kingsley
A very happy weekend to you ! You may not be lying under a palm tree in Waikiki, relaxing and watching the surf, but you don't have to be in order to have a fantastic weekend. It is all in the attitude, friends. You can live in a palace and still be miserable if you have a bad attitude. Most of you already know this. But I am speaking of more than having a positive attitude; I am speaking of true faith and the peace that that can give you. And if you have a peaceful mind and a peaceful heart, then you will also find happiness, even in the midst of trials.
I was around 5 years old when I had my first encounter with faith and answered prayer. I had left church services and my cousin, who was suppose to walk me back home, was no where to be found. I waited and waited, and I got scared. I did not know how to walk home....to find my way. I don't remember if I cried or not, but I do remember I prayed to God to help me. And right after that, my cousin showed up with her friend, saying they had forgotten about me. But the good Lord taught me the power of prayer and of faith that Sunday morning. Some will want to call it all just coincidence, but I know in my heart that God heard me then. I will not now mention all my prayers that the good Lord has answered during my lifetime, because this post is not about me, but about faith.
"Talk what we will of faith, if we do not trust and rely upon Him, we do not believe in Him." -
Anthony Farindon
"The Bible recognizes no faith that does not lead to obedience, nor does it recognize any obedience that does not spring from faith. The two are at opposite sides of the same coin." - A. W. Tozer
"Faith, mighty faith, the promise sees, And looks to God alone; Laughs at impossibilities, And cries it shall be done." - Charles Wesley
In my photograph above that is one determined tree and, I might add, it obviously has endurance to grow so precariously on the hillside and still survive .... upright and strong.
And so it is with people. If you have a strong faith rooted in the love of God and belief in His promises, you can survive anything with the Lord's help and much prayer. You can "grow" upright and strong in your Christian walk. One way to strong faith is to endure many trials, some severe. To wait on the Lord in these times is a sign of true and enduring faith.
Besides faith making you strong and giving you endurance to face life's trials, faith can also be a healing balm to the soul. It gives you hope, for without hope your existence is meaningless and all doom and gloom to your mind.
And Jesus said to him, "Go your way, your faith has made you well." And immediately he recovered his sight and followed Him on the way. - Mark 10:52
Jesus said unto her, "I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. Believest thou this?" - John 11: 25-26 .
The bottom line is, have faith in God and Jesus; pray without ceasing for in prayer you draw closer to God and it will happen that He will answer your prayers, if it agrees with His will for you. You need a close, personal relationship with God and Jesus and that can only happen through reading His Holy Word to get to know His great love and all of His qualities and attributes and character; and also much prayer will draw you closer to Him.
Remember what Hebrews 11:6 says, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him."
Following is a video by Kutless with lyrics about faith.
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." - Hebrews 11:1
