Thankful Hearts: Relationships (Faith)

Monday, October 29

THANKFUL HEARTS: Relationships

Today I am thankful for... FAITH

Scripture:Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see".

Please journal any thought you have after reading this scripture.

Post: Faith is whatever it is that we trust in. In order to know what we really trust in, we need to first acknowledge and then wrestle with our doubts about what we are trusting to be true. Tim Keller says, " A person's faith can collapse overnight if she has failed over the years to listen to her own doubts, which should ONLY be discarded after long reflection". In other words ladies, you are not required to believe in something just because someone else told you to or all your friends do. On the contrary, we need to ask ourselves and our God the hard questions about why we believe what we believe. Further more, God is big enough to take our doubts. He is there for the wresting match if we find that is what we need to do to understand what truth is. In the scripture quoted above, we see two words that describe faith: SURE and CERTAIN. As believers, our beginning point of faith is believing in God's character - He is who He says He is. You must be SURE of that before you can move on to the second part of that scripture; being CERTAIN of what He says He will do; being CERTAIN of the unseen. If our "Plan A" for our own lives falls completely apart, we will be up a creek if we are not sure and certain where our hope and faith are rooted!

Today I am overwhelmingly grateful for my faith in Jesus. When He lifted my head and I opened my eyes, I saw Him show up. He has comforted me, given me peace that transcends all understanding, provided for all my needs, and given me a love I have not and will not experience anywhere else. His touch reaches much farther and wider than mine ever will to those I love. I am SURE of who He is because I woke up; He was right there waiting for me to accept His hand. Just as His word says He has been seeking me all along. Because of that, I am CERTAIN He will do what His word says He will do. Will this come without pain and struggle - absolutely not. However, if I can't experience the sadness and grief life has, how will I ever recognize the joy and happiness it has to offer?

As scripture says, it only takes the faith of a mustard seed. Take whatever faith you have and wrestle it out with the Lord to make sure of what you believe in. Be thankful today that He can take the hard questions you have. He will not turn His back on you because you are questioning Him. In fact, it's just the opposite- He will reveal to you more than you can imagine.

For further reflection look up the following scriptures:Romans 10:9; Ephesians 2:8-9.

Heavenly Father, We come to You with thankful hearts that You are who You are claiming to be. We are grateful that You will stay and take the hard questions and doubts we may have. You claim You won't leave us. Your word says you continually seek us no matter what we have done or who we are. We are grateful for all the things You have promised us and praise You simply for who You are. Thank You for proving we have reason to wholeheartedly put our trust in You. Amen