Faith

How was your Monday?  Mine wasn't bad at all and Pat said his was pretty good too!  Enjoyed dinner tonight with some lasagna and the family. 

VBS started today at our church so staff gets to wear VBS t-shirts all week.  The best $9.95 I could spend to wear my jeans all week.  There is always some comedy with VBS as our ministers really go all out each year with their personal touch whether be acting or dancing all designed around our theme this year, Big Apple Adventure. It is a great place to work!

I have mentioned before the Purpose Driven Life Devotional I receive in my inbox each day.  I have forwarded this particular one on faith to least five people now, so I am just going to share with you.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and He will make your paths straight.” (Psalm 3:5-6 NIV)

God doesn’t promise to make your life perfect and problem-free. Instead, he promises to give you the life you’ve always been meant to have. Only God can do that.

This week, we’ve been looking at faith. Part of having faith in God is expecting him to bless your life. He wants to make your life all it’s meant to be — not all you want it to be, but all he wants it to be. He always has your best interests in mind.

When God asks us to do something, Satan typically reminds us of all we have to give up in order to obey. But that’s only part of the story.

Psalm 34:8 says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!” (NLT). That’s great news! When I trust in God — or take refuge in him — he brings joy. Instead of thinking of what we have to give up when we trust and obey God, the Lord wants us to remember the joy we’ll find when we obey.

My wife and I recently were able to spend some time with our 2 year-old granddaughter, Reese. We can really see this truth in the lives of 2 year-olds. One time, she was swimming in her little toddler pool. Every time she’d get out of the pool and shiver, her grandmother would dry her off. So Reese would walk back to her pool, pour a pitcher of water over herself, and walk back to grandma to get dried off again. That’s a smart girl. She knows where her needs are going to be met. She went back to grandma because she expected grandma to dry her off again. And grandma did — every time!

That’s the kind of relationship God wants with us. It’s what faith is all about — expecting God to act on our behalf.

You might think, “God hasn’t always come through for me. He hasn’t always done what I expected of him.” How could he? God is so much greater than we are. There is so much we don’t understand about God. But I know I can trust him to love me no matter what. God will be here for me from now to eternity. Faith is expecting that even in the midst of what you’re facing now, God will keep loving you and keep being faithful. He’ll keep his plan all the way through eternity.

Psalm 42:11 says, “Oh, my soul, don't be discouraged. Don't be upset. Expect God to act!” (TLB). I've not always gotten what I wanted, but I can say without a shadow of a doubt that God has never let me down. He's never failed to act on my behalf when that’s what I’ve needed.

Expect Him to act. He won’t let you down.

Tom Holladay is a teaching pastor at Saddleback Church and author of The Relationship Principles of Jesus.

What a great word....gotta keep reading it!

Hugs! xoxo