MATURE FAITH
Complete and mature faith says:
- I KNOW God can rescue me from the fire, pain, circumstance.
- I TRUST that He will actually show up with a miracle that brings me out of this.
- Even if He doesn’t rescue, I will remain His servant who continues to trust, serve, and follow only Him.
Tweet ThisA MODERN PARABLE OF THE STRUGGLE
A young boy and his father were riding bikes down the road and a car came from out of no where and ran over the boy, leaving him wounded and laying in the ditch. The boy lay in the ditch hurting and wounded, knowing that his Daddy saw what happened to him and trusts that He will rescue him immediately.
When Daddy doesn’t show up to fix the boy’s problems right away, he doesn’t lose heart. Even though he is adopted, there isn’t any doubt about Daddy’s love or commitment to him. Cries continue to go out to Daddy for help and rescue–long after realizing Daddy will not be coming immediately. He has faith that Daddy will still show up, even if it isn’t right away.
Time goes on though, and from the boy’s perspective, Daddy has remained inactive or unattentive. His wounds have stopped bleeding, but infection has begun and the pain shifts to something more torturous. He doesn’t know if the circumstances have gotten worse, or if the length of time he has had to endure the pain makes things seem that way. The boy is tempted to try to fix his own problems because he doesn’t like being in pain. Should he give up and stop waiting for Daddy? Is He really there? Does He really care?
His brothers ride by, free from the struggles he is having and the thought creeps in that maybe Daddy loves them more. His mind becomes a battle field between thoughts that trust and hope in God and other dark ones that tell him that he has been abandoned and has nothing left but despair.
He KNOWS Daddy can rescue him. How long is he to BELIEVE that he will? Will he continue to TRUST Daddy even if he doesn’t show up to rescue him, or will he abandon all hope and attempt self sufficiency?
These questions are at the crossroads of our faith. Each junction either stretches and grows of our faith, or it wounds it possibly to the point of breaking.
WE ARE THAT LITTLE BOY
FOR THOSE WHO ARE YET TO BE ADOPTED BY DADDY-GOD
Some of you have never experienced the adoptive power and love of Daddy-God. All you know is self sufficiency. Believe it or not, we all start off that way. You are okay. You are not alone. Daddy-God wants to adopt you, but He gives you the final say so. If you want to know more about becoming His child, you can learn more by clicking here.
I want you to know that God SEES the fires, wounds, and struggles you are going through. He wants to love you through them.
ONCE YOU ARE ADOPTED
If you have experienced the power and love of God’s adoptive process, then you are given a measure of faith that can grow as your relationship with Daddy-God grows. You will be able to boldly believe that God SEES when the fires of life bring you to your knees. You will also be able to know that He cares when you are broken and hurting.
A MATURE CHILD DEVELOPS MATURE FAITH
As you walk through the fires of life, and spend time allowing those fires to stretch and grow your faith, you begin to understand they have a purpose.
As faith grows and matures, we will be able to rest assured of these things.
- I KNOW Daddy-God saw this thing happen that has left me wounded and crying out for help.
- I KNOW that Daddy-God cares that I am broken and hurting.
- I weep and waiting, FULLY KNOWING Daddy-God will come and rescue me.
- I can be UNYIELDING in my trust and faith towards Him, if/when His rescue is delayed or doesn’t come.
THE CROSSROADS QUESTIONS: Wounding Faith or Building it?
Faith is something that grows. If you sense that your faith is lacking, allow God to grow that. Sadly, faith grows best in the fire. It is purified and made complete by our struggles. As faith grows you will be better equipped to stand and trust God when you find yourself in the fires.
Just like our proverbial little boy began to ask, we have question cross roads too.
- Should I give up and stop waiting for Daddy?
- Is He really there?
- Does He really care?
- Is He really capable?
- Does it mean He doesn’t love me if He doesn’t fix it?
- Is He a mean Daddy instead of a good and loving one?
- Has He abandoned me?
At the juncture of these cross roads, our faith is stretched. Our authentic relationship with God outside of the fires will give us the strength to be stretched without breaking. This relationship will be the foundation where we have learned about the character of God and the time we spend with Him creates and endurance that we cannot have on our own.
Sometimes the stretching of our faith causes a break. People become disillusioned with God and walk away. This reveals whether faith was authentic and deep rooted. Even when this happens, there is still hope.
Other times, God is so present in a fiery experience that even if there was no relationship with Him before, you easily run into His arms for shelter.
No matter what, God will use all of it. Sometimes our fires are to remove an impurity from our life. Other times, they are so others can see what mature faith looks like.
WHAT CROSSROAD ARE YOU AT?
We all have different fiery trials. I would venture to guess that not one person you meet isn’t experiencing a “little heat” in some are of their lives right this moment.
I encourage you to look at the crossroad you are standing at in your faith. Invite God in to that space and meet you there. Let Him help your stretching lead to maturity instead of breaking.
This is day 2 of the #write31days challenge where I will be writing a new post each day about having ‘FAITH in the FIRE’. If today spoke to you and you don’t want to miss out on any of this series, feel free to click here to join my email mailing list so the posts will be delivered into your in-box. It is encouraging when people are touched or changed by the words I write. You can let me know you were touched, challenged, or changed by leaving a comment and sharing on all of you social media sites.
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