Journey4Jesus
Praying Gods Word in all areas of life… The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
OLD TRUTHS…NEW EYES
A funny thing happens when we grow, things in us begin to change. This can be a physical growth, I’ve definitely experience the change in how clothes fit over the years. Or, it can be a Spiritual growth, where we start to re-look at old truths through new eyes.
This is where I have been recently. As I look at my life, where God has brought us and how He is using us, I am challenged to look internally as well. On this day, my focus was my faith… has my faith in God changed or has it remained the same?
Without a doubt, my faith continues to grow, it stretches my thoughts and insights as I allow God to expand my understanding of these spiritual precepts. One of these “Aha” moments came when I decided to look deeper into the actual word Faith. (for a deeper dive, click on the link).
In Greek, the root word from which we get ‘faith, the noun is PISTIS, and ‘believe’, the verb is PISTUEO. FAITH means- belief, firm persuasion, assurance, firm conviction, faithfulness. Faith is confidence in what we hope for and the assurance that the lord is working, even though we cannot see it. Faith knows that no matter what the situation, in our lives or someone else’s that the lord is working in it. (Hebrew Roots, see link above)
I find it so fascinating, I have studied this word and spiritual concept so many times as I was learning to grow. In the beginning my faith was very childlike, “He said…therefore it is”. This is definitely not a bad thing, but then I could see, when I chose to go deeper in my faith, looking at those who had gone before me and recognizing that there are actions involved in our faith and that we are meant to act on it. This essentially turned my faith into a verb… this is when I started to do… and go… and serve.
This too is a great thing, and definitely part of our faith journey. Yet this time, God was opening my eyes to something new, something exhilarating… something I really wanted to understand. The words that kept jumping out to me where “firm persuasion, assurance, and firm conviction”.
To me, each of these descriptors come from an external place; to be firmly persuaded or convicted of something, someone or something must be the persuader of the truth. Assurance as well comes elsewhere, I can be assured of something I learn by testing it to facts, but it still needs to be from an outside force.
Therefore, my conclusion in this, is that God not only desires us to live in Faith, He is the giver of that same faith. As He molds us, teaches us and grows us, so does He expand our faith by His firm persuasion and the assurance we receive as we spend time both with Him and in His Word.
To me this was a new revelation as to how I perceived my role as a follower of Christ. I was once again, forced to recognize that I have so little power in my own strength. This is not because God wanted us weak, but because He wanted us dependant on His strength and power.
There was a time in my life when I was trying to control everything and that thought would have terrified me. I absolutely needed to believe at that time in myself and my abilities. All of this has changed in my life as I have learned to surrender my will to His. I am beyond grateful that I can access All I need in Him, I no longer need to carry the weight of living in my limited strength, even in regards to my faith… what a beautiful revelation! Thank you Lord.
Journal Entry: #30
Now faith brings our hopes into reality and becomes the foundation needed to acquire the things we long for. It is all the evidence required to prove what is still unseen./ This testimony of faith is what previous generations were commended for. / Faith empowers us to see that the universe was created and beautifully coordinated by the power of God’s words! He spoke and the invisible realm gave birth to all that is seen. Hebrews 1: 1-3 TPT
Heavenly Father,
As I ponder my faith, what it means…what it even is… You have opened my eyes to a new truth that I had never actually understood before. I always believed faith was something I was supposed to do… something I had to achieve or grab hold of or attain.
Thank you Lord, for teaching me that its actually not my own doing. It is something that You produce in me. It cannot be produced by people at all. The word faith means ‘firm persuasion’ a conviction that comes from hearing. Any faith I have is your divine persuasion in me Lord.
This faith from You is continually birthed in me as I have grown in my relationship with You… Praise You Lord, thank you! Now when I feel my faith is weak, it will cause me to look deeper to You, so that You can instil more into me… strengthening and growing me.
Glory to God, just another of Your beautiful gifts and promises being fulfilled within me. What a beautiful revelation… Thank you Jesus. Fill me with your Spirit Lord, and continue to strengthen and build my faith. Walk with me in this journey and never stop teaching me.
In Jesus name ❤️ Amen.
My Final Thoughts & Encouragement:
It’s pretty easy to allow ourselves to get lazy in our Spiritual disciplines, to allow ourselves to think we have “arrived”, rather than recognize we “remain on a journey”, a journey that never ends until we reach Eternity with Jesus. Honestly, the enemy knows that this growth never ends which is why he is constantly trying to keep us busy and away from spending time with God.
The thing God has been showing me since embarking on this Journey for Jesus with Him, is that He still has so much for us to learn. The more I lean in to Him, the more I experience His presence…the more I grow. He has so much yet to teach me, and I’m excited to learn from the Master.
Maybe you, like me, have had times of striving and struggling with your faith. Maybe you also felt like it was the golden carrot constantly being yanked out of our reach. Sadly, that is the Lie that the enemy of our souls would have you believe; That true faith is both difficult and unattainable.
I want to encourage you with the Truth direct from the Word of God, He is at work IN you. He is constantly teaching us through His divine persuasion, stretching us out of our comfort zones as we learn to continually look to him as our source of power.
So, the next time you hear the enemy whispering into your ear that “you’re not enough”, take heart… breath deeply and hand it over to Jesus, who is our constant source of power and more than enough for whatever the world throws at you. As we speak, He is at work strengthening your faith muscles, as you trust in Him.
Blessings, Janet ❤️ Journey4Jesus
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Journey4Jesus 