Reading With the People of God #12 - the Good LifeSample

Live By Faith

God has built into His Creation the means by which all things are cared for. When we truly come to a place of believing this fact, we cease to strive towards things and instead walk by faith, knowing God has already provided for our need and will reveal it to be so in His perfect timing.

We readily believe that God conquered death and defeated sin through the shed blood of His Son Jesus Christ. We praise Him for rescuing us from an eternity of despair by separation. Then, in the next breath, complain about something. When we do this, we are quite literally talking out of both sides of our mouths. What that means is, how foolish are we to have faith in God to save our souls for all eternity, but then doubt that He can and will provide us every single need to complete His task for our lives according to His good will and purpose!

The keynote is according to His Will. He provides everything. Look at wild flowers; to grow and spring forth, they receive all that they need. Their lifespan is only a few days. If He does this for grass, how much more is He willing to provide for us? The question to ponder is this: Are we perceiving lack because of impatience? Or is it that our desires do not align with His?

Look back at God's chosen people. They desired to have a flesh-and-blood king to rule over them. That desire led them into sin, heartache, and God's wrath.

When we desire things outside of God’s will, we create a vacuum in our hearts. A vacuum that readily accepts anxiety, depression, jealousy, resentments, covetousness, greed, bitterness, and the list goes on… What we focus on has a profound way of being what we become, rewiring our minds to conform to what our thoughts are consumed by. If we are saturated in the truths of God and have a desire to know Him, then our desires will align with Him, not our flesh or the world.

Perceived lack comes from misaligned desire. Misaligned desire creates room for doubt, and doubt will always negate faith. Without faith, hope can not survive.

The following prayer is from Thomas A. Kempis’ book Imitation of Christ. This prayer is on how to conduct ourselves in our desires.

“Lord, if it be in your will, so let it be; and if it be to your honor, let it be fulfilled in your name. Lord, if this be for my good, give me the grace to use it for your honor. But if you know that it will be harmful to me, and not profitable for the good of my soul, then take away from me such a desire.”

Amen.

* Primer contributed by Ardena Hamill, Celebrate Recovery encourager