The Journey

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.” Hebrews 11:1

My commentary states that “faith is believing in something we cannot see or prove, but which we trust to be true. It is a confidence in God’s plan and provision for our future (‘what we hope for’) as well as an expectation that God will fulfill everything he has promised, though we haven’t experienced fulfillment yet (‘certain of what we do not see’).” Women of Faith Study Bible, p. 2003. As Christians we experience many walks of faith in our lives on different levels and in different seasons. According to my Bible Study there are five stages of faith in every season. As I reflect over the past five years I can see these stages lived out in the fulfillment of God’s plan.

Stage 1: God initiates a faith relationship. I know that in 2/06 God called me into a deeper relationship with Him. It was a clear calling on His part that He was moving me from one level of faith and intimacy to another.

Stage 2: God develops fellowship with a consistent walk of faith. As several family members were diagnosed with terminal illnesses He made me dependent upon Him. Through this dependency I spent more time with the Lord than any other time in my life. Through this fellowship He taught me that He can be trusted.

Stage 3: God requires a faith response to the unveiling of His will. All of my family members were taken home to Heaven. Their healing would not be earthly but I chose early on to pray for His will for their lives and my own as well. Our faith response can never be tied into a certain resolution.

Stage 4: God matures faith through waiting. When we brought my father-in-law home to live with us his final year of life every day was about waiting. There was a beginning to this service without the knowledge of how long. It was a year of God holding a mirror up to me revealing certain holes in my faith.

Stage 5: God rewards completed faith. I am now in a season of blessings as God has me in a place of rest. It seems that my family is basking in His glory and His blessings as this walk of faith for this 5 year season seems to be complete.

Faith is what powers our lives enabling and sustaining in the toughest of times. Without faith our lives and circumstances seem random. Without faith our prayers simply consist of noise without substance. Without faith we are basically refusing to believe God, bringing into question His calling, His power, His character and His purpose for our lives. Our lack of faith implies that we believe He either will not or cannot come through for us.

Faith is not a formula but a journey that we must travel with God as our Guide.