Bread for the Journey

Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)

"Now Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see."

We recently completed a ladies Bible study called "Forging Faith"- "Where Reverence and Intimacy Collide" written by Lisa DeVries.

Lisa defined Faith as:

"Being so persuaded as to the truth about God that it results in trusting Him with hope and certain expectation that He will come through for us as God"

To illustrate the definition above, Lisa took a familiar analogy on faith even farther.

"This is a chair", she said.

"We know it is used to sit on, that it is meant to support our weight.

We can look at the chair, examine it's quality and workmanship;

we can walk around it, look under it, take it's measurements, 

check out the materials used in making it."

"We can study it, talk about it, share the story of the chair with our friends and 

even hold a conference about it.

But unless we actually sit in the chair, it is all rhetoric.

When we sit on that chair, and actually pick our feet up off the floor, 

we demonstrate our faith in that chair, that it is actually safe to sit in it"

It is a simple analogy that I've heard often but what got me was that phrase

"sit..and actually pick our feet up off the floor"

I've been sitting in my faith chair for many, many years.

I had to ask myself, "How often have I  abandoned my fears, 

and actually picked my feet up off the ground,

demonstrating my complete trust in God?"

So often I've kept my feet firmly planted on the floor, just in case God doesn't come through for me.

That is a fraudulent faith, full of talk and short on real belief.

True faith results in abandoning ourselves to God, living our lives in such a way that it is evident that we really believe that He is who He says He is and will do what He says He will do.

My prayer is that I will joyfully embrace this kind of faith and abandon myself to His care,

stepping out with the hope and certain expectation that God will fulfill His purpose for me.

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