Recently, I heard God telling me to ‘’Stay in faith’’, and it dawned on me that perhaps I wasn’t walking in faith like I should have. That brought to mind the question, how do we stay in faith? Just because you walked in faith yesterday doesn’t mean you will automatically stay in faith every single day.
In the bible, Jesus’ very own disciples are a great example of this, but Jesus called them out!
I mean, it’s easy to stay in faith when everything is good and things are going your way.
But how do you stay in faith when you are being challenged or are struggling to keep your head above the water?
How do you stay in faith when ‘people are trying you’ (as some of us love to say).
This question may be answered differently by everyone, but for me, I have found that above all else, it takes intentionality.
The thing is, that our walk with God is individual. I wish it were a collaborative effort so that on those days I don’t feel like being in faith, I can take the day off and someone else can take my place.
The problem with that thought is that I have actually done that, I have (foolishly) ‘taken the day off’ of being in faith however, I didn’t like the results.
I much rather the results of exercising my faith, putting in the ‘work’ it takes, and reaping its fruit.
I love the peace that staying in faith brings to my soul rather than the anxiety and bad attitude the devil loves to see us live with.
You see, in this life there will always be a reason to complain. There will always be a reason to feel bad or upset about something. But we have to make a choice.
We have to decide if we will accept the invitation to be distracted by the issues that come up in our lives or if we will choose to intentionally seek God for guidance, and continue to walk in, and keep our faith.
Staying in faith takes work. Every single day and every single moment of my life I have to learn to recognize when a thought or feeling is not of God and rebuke it at its onset.
When things happen that upset me or that are out of my control, I have to make the decision that I will not give in to those feelings and immediately, I have to pray to God for His help and guidance in how to handle the situation.
I have to make a conscious effort to give it to God and shift my thoughts.
Doing that is important in my life because if I let those thoughts or feelings marinate in my heart, I literally feel it building up inside of me like a volcano about to explode.
People may think that ‘immediately’ praying to God and shifting your thoughts sounds weird or impossible to do especially if you’re not in your private space but that’s not necessarily true.
This may be different for you, but what that actually looks like for me, is taking a pause. It’s literally staying quiet and as a lot of us may have heard, ‘if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all’.
Don’t get me wrong, I have not perfected this and I probably fail on most days, but I thank God for His mercy and the fact that they are new every morning – (Lamentations 3:22-23), Lord knows I need a brand new batch every single day!
Throughout this process, God has been teaching me the importance of being sensible to the Holy Spirit because He is our Helper, our Comforter (John 14:16).
God is our very PRESENT help in times of trouble! (Psalm 46:1-7).
When something doesn’t ‘feel right’, I have learned that I need to pray to God and ask Him to direct me. If I don’t have peace about something, then I just won’t do it.
Colossians 3:15 tells us to let the peace of God rule in our hearts.
The AMPC version breaks it down like this:
And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of Christ’s] one body you were also called [to live]. And be thankful (appreciative), [giving praise to God always].
Today I want to encourage someone, especially if perhaps you’re like me and wear your emotions on your sleeves, and it takes Jesus for you not to say exactly what’s on your mind, that you are not alone.
If you feel as if you’ve messed up and gave in to a ‘bad day’, don’t be discouraged. Don’t feel as if you’re too far out that God cannot reach for you.
If you are still here, Jesus still died for you too. Cry out to Him for He is full of compassion and unfailing love and mercy – Lamentations 3:31-33.
Whomever is reading this, stay in faith, for faith triumphs over trouble!
Lamentations 3:22-23Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail.They are new every morning;great is Your faithfulness.
