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There’s this thing in my life that I continue to pray over, wait on, and hope for. And it’s kind of a big deal. Something to give God glory in and for.

Meanwhile, I often teeter between excitement and feeling a bit overwhelmed.

So, I sometimes smile in anticipation. Or, I jump up and down on the inside when I imagine the possibility of it happening.

Then, only moments later, a knot forms in the pit of my stomach wondering what if never happens? 

This thing required I take a leap of faith. And I’m learning these leaps should be the “norm” for believers. But we often hesitate about stepping into the unknown. Still, Hebrews 11:1 defines it exactly that way:

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (NIV)

Faith is not a receive-it-all-at-once deal. Because the confidence in what we hope for and the assurance about what we do not see, grows and strengthens while we live out our Christian lives on this earth.

God uses our circumstances today, whatever tomorrow brings, the things we pray over, wait on, and hope for, to cultivate a mature #faith in us. #FaithInGod @FridayKaren
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Here are 5 ways to cultivate an unstoppable F-A-I-T-H:

F – Find God faithful. 

We come to God in faith, believing He is Creator and Lord, and accepting His salvation by faith through Jesus Christ. This faith continues in our life as we find God faithful and learn He always fulfills His promises.

Hebrews 11, often called the Hall of Faith, showcases the men and women who not only found God faithful, but who also acted on the Lord’s promises even though they died before receiving many of the things promised.

A – Acknowledge who God is.

“Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God whose ways you may not understand at the time.”  — Oswald Chambers

We must trust Who God is…the sum total of His attributes. Yet, sometimes we only concentrate on the feel-good parts of God’s character. Such as God is love, merciful, and good.

And all those characteristics are absolutely true about God. But He is also holy, just, the one true judge, in control, on His throne, the only God, and sovereign—reigns over all things. Every one of these aspects are what make God, God.

We deny God’s full Lordship when we only celebrate one aspect of His character.

I – Imitate Jesus.

When we look at the life and ministry of Jesus, we see faith in how He obeyed and glorified the heavenly Father, performed miracles, surrendered to God’s plan, and spoke of God’s laws and commands. Also, He ministered to people’s needs in the middle of their ordinary days.

Obtaining great faith on the Christian journey is not spiritual extra credit. Instead, it’s the process of how we mature as a believer in the middle of ordinary days, in all our todays and tomorrows.

“Faith sees the invisible, believes the unbelievable, and receives the impossible.” — Corrie ten boom

T – Trust without hesitation.

Our job as a Christ-follower is to trust God’s power, ways, and purposes. And God’s job is everything else. He does the heavy-lifting.

The thing I mentioned in the introduction? God continues to remind me that His timing really is perfect; His plans for me are always for my good and His glory.

Those things we continue to wait on and hope for all have a purpose to increase our faith, not decrease it.

Even hardships that test our faith lead to steadfastness (James 1:2-4). Enduring these trials is what God uses to pull us closer to himself and grow our trust.

H – Hold on to truth.

Nothing anchors our faith more than a God who is trustworthy and true to His Word.

Sometimes our own thoughts, the enemy, or other people trick our heart into thinking God is holding out on us.

Maybe a prayer went unanswered in how we wanted the situation to turn out. Perhaps we feel God didn’t come through for us in what we wished for or wanted to happen.

Our circumstances should never dictate our faith, but grow our faith. In everything, we hold firmly on to God’s truth.

Because God is trustworthy, we can trust Him with our todays and all our tomorrows.

Unstoppable Faith

• F – Find God faithful.
• A – Acknowledge who God is.
• I – Imitate Jesus.
• T – Trust without Hesitation.
• H – Hold on to truth.

Which part of unstoppable F-A-I-T-H stood out to you?

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Passage:

Key Verses: “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:10-11

“Did you do your best, honey?”

 “Yes, mommy, I did” she quietly said.

“Did you study for the test, double-checked your answers?”

 “I did, mommy, I promise.”

 She was at the verge of tears.

My heart sunk. I felt helpless and dumb. The grade was pretty unacceptable and it wasn’t her first that month.

I found myself hating Pre-Algebra all over again.

No, I didn’t think about pre-algebra when I said yes to homeschooling my children. No, sire, pre-algebra was not in my “cons” list. I actually didn’t have a “pros and cons” list at all. I simply knew that God was calling us to enroll our girls in a hybrid school, where they go to school some days and homeschool on the others. I figured we would do just fine; after all, I was only going to serve as a facilitator and booboo kisser on homeschool days.

Wrong! Was I ever wrong.

I was also the one who was supposed to be able to help my babies when they didn’t know what to do. Instead, I looked at pre-algebra papers and wondered how on earth I made it through school thirty years ago.

Nice. Really nice, Patricia. What were you thinking?

Did God really say…?

That’s when I started questioning God on a decision that He guided us through, step-by-step. We knew it was His will. We sought His confirmation and received it.

But at the first obstacle, at the first not-so-comfortable situation, I decided I must have misunderstood Him.

I wish I could say that that was the first time in my 20 years as a Christian that I doubted His direction when things didn’t go as planned. I wish I could put on the super-Christian cape and claim that I always tell my heart to quiet down when things start getting out of (my) control.

But.it.just.isn’t.so.

 I’m just glad I’m in good company.

Several of the Giants of Faith of Hebrews 11 struggled with the same sort of unbelief before they reached the place where they could always see with eyes of unshaken faith.

Think Sarah laughing at the thought of a baby in her barren womb… Genesis 18:12

Think Abraham doubting His Covenant Promise and agreeing to a shortcut … Genesis 16:2

Think Moses keeping his eyes on His inadequacies instead on the promise that I AM was with Him… Exodus 4

Think Peter denying Christ after offering to die for Him… John 18:15-27

Think Thomas touching the wounds after seeing the Risen Savior… John 20:27

Truthfully, when God gives us a direction or a promise, we all usually start on the right path, acting as those who truly believe… only to halt at the sight of an obstacle that is bigger than our abilities… an unexpected outcome… or become anxious and jump ahead of God when we think that He is taking too long.

Still, God’s words to Isaiah ring true to every single promise He makes to His Covenant children:

“So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55: 11

I’m glad that we pressed on and survived pre-algebra last year.

Algebra 1 has been the promise fulfilled, as our daughter’s A’s confirm that we passed another (faith) test when I chose to remind my heart to believe and trust… and simply press on in obedience. But I know many other times will come, when I will be tempted to question God’s ways, and wonder if I missed the right turn on His path for me, simply because He has chosen to mold me in the process.

My ultimate response, I pray, will remain the same:

I’ll tell my heart to believe.

And in the meantime, while I cannot see the full scope of His promises, I’ll choose to keep on seeking Him… trusting Him… listening to His guidance… obeying His Word.

Knowing with all my heart that, in His perfect time, I will delight as His Word of Promise returns completely fulfilled… just as He said it would.

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