September 30, 2018
Hello, friends. Recently it’s been impressed upon me to have childlike faith. I don’t know if you’re like me or not, but some of the promises in the Bible are easier to hold on to than others. I don’t know why other than I have a bad habit of overanalyzing things sometimes (more than I should).
For example, I whole heartedly believe that when I die that I’m going to heaven to be with Jesus. I believe in John 3:16 and in John 14:1-3 when it says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am” (NIV).
So, why is it so hard for me to believe in other verses in the Bible? I believe in the WHOLE Bible – not just parts of it. I mean, if you only believe in certain parts then what do you use as your measuring stick as to what passes as God’s Word and what doesn’t? My friend, I urge you to not go there – the whole Word of God is true and was written by the Holy Spirit through people designated by God to provide His Word to us.
So, why is it just a little harder for me to grasp on to Mathew 21:21-22 where Jesus tells his disciples, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer” (NIV).
Then, there’s 1 John 5:13-15 where it says, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us—whatever we ask — we know that we have what we asked of Him” (NIV).
We must remember that in these passages God is not granting wishes like a genie in a bottle. He will only answer our prayers if they are according to His will. And, we know His will by reading his Word and getting to know Him on a personal basis. I’ll be the first to admit that I wish there were a little more in the Bible as far as knowing God’s will for our lives. But, His Word contains all that we need to know and the Bible cautions against taking away or adding to it in any way in Deuteronomy 4:2 and Revelation 22:18-19.
But, God doesn’t just want us to get to know Him, he wants us to communicate with Him as well. Philippians 4:4-7 has become near and dear to my heart recently (as you can probably tell if you’ve read my past posts). It’s been a blueprint of sorts to how I should go about things and has been encouraging to me in my prayer life. It says, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (NIV).
Verses 8-9 of that same book and chapter tell us what to focus on – by telling us, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you” (NIV).
It’s easy for me to stop at verse 7 and not go on to verses 8-9. These are some of the things that we can rejoice about when speaking to the Lord. Another personal revelation of mine… How do these things escape me until I am writing these blogs? Guess what – it’s the Holy Spirit speaking to me – thank you God!
Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us that God will direct our paths; and 1 John 3:21 tells us, “Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God” (NIV).
I don’t want you to think that this blog is all about Kyle – it’s NOT! Remember, I’m a year delayed in my obedience to God. I hadn’t even really met him at that point. This blog is about what God has done in my life and is continuing to do… and being obedient to Him. But, the area of finding a godly Christian man is what is on my heart at this point in my life. And, it’s what’s God has used to bring me to this point of obedience in following through with my agreement with Him about a blog. I shouldn’t have delayed in my obedience. However, God is using this point in my life to share more with you. And, I believe that He’s going to use it to share an even bigger testimony as to His faithfulness. I am a child of God and I have put my trust in Him and there is nothing too big or too small or impossible for God. I feel like I should quote every verse that I reference, but please trust me that there are many versus to back that up.
I wish that it were easier for me to believe just as easily Matthew 21:21-22 and 1 John 5:13-15 as it is for me to believe that when I die am going to be with Jesus. I mean I DO believe all of God’s Word. I believe those passages as well. It’s my overanalyzing of things where I stumble just a bit. That’s where having childlike faith comes into play. Children are usually naturally trusting and they grasp the simplest and even sometimes complex ideas. They don’t overanalyze things – they just believe.
That’s where God has me right now. I have been reading my Bible to get to know God more; and, He’s revealing more of Himself to me every day. My prayer life has totally changed from anything that it ever looked like before and I now have very personal conversations with God. I will say that I’m learning to listen to hear God’s voice. It’s easy to fall into being the one doing all of the talking and not listening to what He may be trying to tell you. While I don’t know all that God is doing right now, I believe the Bible when it says that His timing is perfect. I may not like waiting, but it has produced perseverance, character, and hope in me… just like the Bible says in Romans 5:3-5, “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us” (NIV).
God hasn’t convicted my heart about praying for Kyle and I to be together again and to start a life together. It’s the craziest thing I’ve ever felt or been through. It’s the crazy kind of faith that I will have to tell everyone about once God answers my prayers. It’s requiring me to have childlike faith in God’s promises to us in the Bible – all of them, not just some of them. It’s harder somedays, and even some hours, than others, but that’s when I have to go back to God and pray and read His word. It happens a lot, my friend. God is refining me in ways that I wouldn’t have imagined. And, honestly, I wouldn’t have chosen to go down this path – it’s not been easy. But, I know that it’s going to turn out far better with God than if I had control. I did pray for a situation where only God would have control (remember?). It’s not been easy because it’s a natural tendency for me to want to have control of a situation so that I feel more at ease and to know what’s going on. Psalm 46:10 comes to mind though where we’re told, “Be still, and know that I am God” (NIV). I’ve thought that a few times recently.
I’m in a spot where I need to not overanalyze, to just have faith in God, and to wait expectantly on Him.
Is there an area of your life where you need to have childlike faith? Don’t overthink things, just believe in what the Word says… and give whatever it is that is on your heart over to God.
God Bless and we’ll talk again soon,
Penelope G.