Believe In Yourself

There is this goofy idea that walking by faith is going to make your life full of blessing. That by faith, you can actually control whether or not good things come your way.

Is this not true?

Yes, it is. People teach this from rather expensive pulpits as "proof" that "faith" is the vehicle to manipulate reality, and get what you want. It happens every Sunday, by some extremely popular teachers.

Have you considered what faith really is? Faith is trusting in something, or someone.

If I trust my doctor and he says smoking is good for me, I will smoke. In trusting him, I have made a serious error. He was not worthy of my faith. In this example, faith itself is not good and will not save or empower me...at all.

Faith does not give or take away power. It is simply trust.

The object of the trust is the real issue, the real power.

Yet, it isnt just a blanket thing. I may trust a CPA to handle my money, but not trust him to watch my kids. I may trust my barber to cut my hair, but not to fix my car.

Look, this is really simple and seems rather childlike in its truth.

Still, so many fall victim to this lie that faith is some innate power that we can tap into in order to have reality warping powers...like an X-man.

Sounds a wee bit rediculous doesn't it?

Why, would thinking people go so wrong regarding something so obvious?

It is simple. Because we want to become like God. We want to ascend. We want to be more than a helpless human being. We want to become gods.

This IS the first lie. This IS the SIN nature. Every aspect of your life where you fight against God for control, even in the little lies that you tell yourself where YOU are responsible, you ascend in your own heart and mind.

Doing this "ascending" thing by comparing yourself to others is easy, yet the real comparison has always been being compared to God Himself.

In that comparison, we fail brutally.

He never made us to become gods with reality warping powers. That is usually obvious within the first 10 minutes of our day.

Feeling helpless?

Why is that a bad thing? Its true. We really are.

Salvation, or acceptance by God comes through faith. Not faith in your doctor, CPA, or your barber. Faith that God requires is in Him alone.

Jesus Christ is God. He walked as a man for the sacrifice, yes, but Jesus also lived as an example of walking by faith. Though He was in fact God, He walked and talked of trusting The Father with every step, in every situation, including death!

He even said not to worry, or be concerned, about eating or dressing in clothes. Pets don't have to be concerned about such things, neither do children.

This whole thing is about trusting God. Trusting Him to save you seems easy, but then if once "saved" why would God then expect you to measure up and figure out how to attain God-like powers so you can live without Him?

Yes, it is definately contradictory of all Jesus said and did.

Yes, there is power in trusting God, and miracles happen because of faith. However, the faith doesn't make the action. We trust God, not ourselves, or others. He is the Actor. He is the power. We are nothing but children doing what we SEE the father doing.

Faith is sight. It is knowing without visual evidence. It is KNOWING by the Holy Spirit what God IS about to do.

How do you know?

Easy, because it happens.

Look, if I, as a man, feel in my heart or mind, that God wants me to move a mountain, then when I speak to the mountain...nothing happens.

My feelings and thoughts arrogantly decieved me. This doesn't happen when you are really walking in Jesus' name. Walking in His authority, because you trust Him.

You see, if you trust Him. Then you KNOW He can do anything. Yet, you also KNOW that it is Him who does it. It is also Him who decides when and where it happens.

It has NOTHING to do with YOU.

Isn't that what trust is? Trusting HIM? Not you?

To really walk by faith in God, you must trust God. You must understand and accept that God alone, is absolutely and completely in control of all things. That nothing and no one can stop Him or slow Him. You can't. Satan can't. All the armies of men or angels can't.

Would you trust your plumber to magically make your eyesight restored?

Rediculous? Of course it is. Your plumber is only able to fix your plumbing. He may seem to work miracles there, but to actually restore organs, well, no one can do that.

Oh, but God can.

Can you see it? Bad teachers have told their sheep for years that God can't help them if THEY don't have the "faith". Faith becomes a work, a power, that men can access. Its like a magic spell book. All you need are the right words...like "in Jesus name", or "I plea the blood".

God is not limited. You are. Your faith should be in Him alone...not you.

"Ah, but God is limited by my choices! I have a free-will!"

Can you see the problem? How can God be trusted, if He has to depend on your choices? If this were so, then He may or may not be able to help or save you, if you don't choose the right way.

Doesn't the Law itself show you that your "choices" WILL take you in the wrong direction?

Yes, it does. It shows you that you can never be God. You will never be good enough to be like Him. You will never make the good choices, and do the good things. It painfully offers that truth, where if He shows it to you, you will see your need for Him. A need to trust Him.

Jesus, is the focal point. The center object of that truth. If you trust Him, really trust Him, you will believe what He says.

He says "Trust God, and only God".

Trust Him with everything, including your choices. Trust that He will take care of everything the best way possible, not just for you, but for the grand purpose of all things.

That means walking day by day KNOWING that every circumstance God puts in your path has a greater purpose. That when, or if, God wants you to move a mountain, that HE will make it clear. That you cannot miss it, because He is more than powerful enough to open your eyes and make you understand.

The truth is, the devil wants you to not trust God.

If you trust God, you KNOW the devil doesn't get to do anything he has no permission for. This means that if God lets him attack you, then God had a greater, good, purpose for it. Yet, understand, that the goal of the devil is to get you to trust in anything but God. Usually, he focuses on you trusting you.

He does this by getting you to limit God, and believe you are responsible.

That is walking by faith...in you.