a little more on faith (part 2)
Since the christian life is about a love affair with Jesus, when are some of the deepest lessons learned? Hard times. I know that in my own life, the greatest long-term personal changes came from tough moments. From the book The Signature of Jesus by Brennan Manning, he shares these words: “Biblical faith is an attitude acquired gradually through many crises and trials. Through the agonizing test with his son Isaac (Gen. 22:1-19), Abraham learns that his God wants us to live and not to die, to grow and not to wither. He knows that the God who called him to hope against hope is reliable. Perhaps this is the essence of faith: to be convinced of the reliability of God.” Maybe the true measurement of our faith is in the amount of confidence we have that God will be there. (more later…)
Over the past few months of enduring my personal trials, I have learned that it isn’t so much about saying the right things as it is believing those things to be true. I could say “all things work out for good for those who are called of God according to His purpose” but if I don’t believe that, God’s promises won’t bring forth good fruit in my life. I praise God that He sees my heart and doesn’t spare me conviction when my heart is in the wrong place. He truly is the author and perfector of our faith. I am thankful for that!
Amen! We learn the most in the deepest valleys…praise God that HE IS always there with us….