Saturday, March 14, 2015

Saturday, March 14, 2015

"I cry out to God Most High, to God who will fulfill His purpose for me. My heart is confident in you, O God; my heart is confident. No wonder I can sing your praises!" (Psalm 57:2,7)

One word rang in my spirit as I read this Psalm:  F A I T H.

An American missionary in Africa wanted to translate the English word faith into the local dialect of the people group with whom he was working. He could not find its equivalent. So he went to an old wise man from this people, who was Christian, for help in rendering the word “faith” into understandable language. The guru studied it, and finally said, “Does it not mean to hear with the heart?”

I think that “hearing with the heart” is great way to describe faith.  It is a “knowing” that comes from being confident in the character and nature of Our Heavenly Father. Faith does not rest in knowing what God will do, but rather in Who God is.  I never know how anything will turn out, but I KNOW that, whatever the situation looks like, I have a Father who is a Promise Keeper, a Lover of my very soul, and is for me like no other.

I remember a time of real testing in my life.  I was facing a huge decision that would change the course of my life and I was struggling to know which way to turn.  I wanted to turn to so many different people for their wisdom, but God had clearly told me that those people would not have an answer for me - it was only going to come from Him.  I had to trust him.

On my way to an important meeting I found myself panicking.  I was so afraid of making the wrong choice and being out of the will of God that I was nearly paralyzed with fear.  I was praying in the car as I drove, crying out to God, when one of the biggest tractor trailer trucks I’ve ever seen in my life passed by with a huge Scripture on its side.  It read, “Romans 8:31 - If God is for us, who can be against us?”  This was just what my heart needed to hear.  Fear left me, confidence filled me, and I heard God speak on which way to go.

Life is filled with uncertainties.  We never know what will happen from one minute to the next and this reality can be very scary.  What we believe - how we believe - will ultimately determine how we respond.  Lord, help us to respond to it all by faith and not by sight.