Faith

Faith. The word came up in my daily reading today from “My Utmost for His Highest,” by Oswald Chambers.

We hear so often, “I just don’t have FAITH like that” or, “I WISH I could have more faith.” Ozzie says, “…the purpose of God is to see that perfect faith is made real in His children.”

THAT is “the purpose of God” in my life? Can I really believe that His PURPOSE is to see “perfect faith made real” to me? Why is that His purpose?

Because without it, I will not experience many things that He desires to do in my life. Chambers says that turning intellectual faith into our personal possession is always a fight…not just sometimes.

Here is what came one notch clearer to me this day: until we really KNOW Jesus, God is merely a concept, and we can’t really have faith in Him. Here is an illustration that came to me as I was pondering this concept of what faith (or the lack of it) can do (or not) in my life: I am walking on a street –alone– just after dark one night, and a man comes around a corner, walks up to me and says, “can you come and help me, my car is three blocks up the street, won’t start, and I need someone to look at it.” I do not KNOW this man. I have never MET him. It is dark, and I am alone. WHY should I even trust that he is not planning to walk me around the corner where four of his friends are standing, waiting to “mug” me? I am very likely not willing to walk around the CORNER with this man, let alone several BLOCKS with him.

A different scenario: same walk, same street…but this time a close friend walks around the corner, “O my gosh, David! I cannot believe you are here…right here! My car just died two blocks from here, and I need help.” I would never think twice about taking the walk with him. I know him. I trust him. Our relationship makes a difference.

God may call me to step out in faith today, to experience something He has planned for me as I take yet another step in becoming more in His likeness. If I am not walking in relationship with Him, I will balk at best...ignore Him, or say "no" at worst. What did I miss in the past week, due to my lack of faith... which was in direct proportion to how well I know Him?

So, if I am finding it difficult to “step forward in faith,” seems like a relationship issue to me…