Faith

   Earlier this week I had a really good conversation with someone whom I had never met but who had been following my story since the beginning. In talking with her she was marveling at my faith, and she confessed to me that she often wondered if she would be able to have that kind of faith and not lose it, becoming bitter should the Lord put her through a similar situation.

   I said to her, "If you had asked me two years ago before the accident if I thought I would be able to have this kind of faith after facing this trial, my answer would be 'I don't know'". The reassuring thing is that I do not have to know because God has promised us that he is not going to let us go.

Isaiah 43:1-3 says,

"But now, O Jacob, listen to the LORD who created you.

 O Israel, the one who formed you says,
"Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.
When you go through deep waters,
I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty,
you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression,
you will not be burned up;
the flames will not consume you.
For I am the LORD, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”

 And listen to how this Chapter closes out in verse 13 with a great and staggering spiritual truth: “From eternity to eternity I am God. No one can snatch anyone out of my hand. No one can undo what I have done."  And no one means, NO ONE, not even me!

    I have my faith because God gave it to me, not because I had anything in myself or some secret super hidden inner strength that allows me to have faith no matter what obstacles I face. The Bible says that if you have faith the size of a mustard seed that you can move mountains. I don’t think that means that we are able to move mountains on our own but that if we believe and trust and have that faith in the Lord, he can take even the tiniest bit of faith and do something amazing with it.

Matthew 17:20
"...Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.^[a]”

  

     That is what I know I have: That little mustard seed faith that God has been able to use and do something incredible with. What is in me is what God has given me. If you have faith and trust in the lord Jesus Christ as your savior, that doesn’t just mean that he is only your Savior from hell, but he is also your Savior while you’re here on earth. So, don’t be worried or concerned about losing faith should God send a you a significant trial. He is your Savior and he will save you no matter what you face.

Our faith, my faith is not in-and-of itself, ALL faith must have an object, and the object, the person in whom we place our faith is the Lord and his word.

The writer of Hebrews explains it like this...
“Now when people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves to hold them to it. And without any question that oath is binding. God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God's inner sanctuary. Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.” –Hebrews 6:16-20

 This passage binds God to his own oath and promise! It all ties together in the end with Christ as the guarantor, the payment of this promise. God can only deal in one currency when it comes to promises and covenants, and that is blood. The blood of his son, Jesus, was the only acceptable currency to secure these promises. And when Jesus was raised from the dead, we can now say with full confidence, “The check has cleared!”... Wow, what an amazing God we serve!
To Him be the glory!
Chelsey