The Faith Resumé

 

  

    Hebrews 11:6 (NASB)- "And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him." 

    James 1:6-8 (NASB)- "But he must ask in faith without doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways." 

    The scriptures mentioned above are just a few of a plethora of scriptures in the Bible when it comes to our faith in the Lord i.e. how it should be treated, how it should be used, what to think about it, etc. Faith is defined in Hebrews 11:1 (KJV) as "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen". The question then arises, "Then why have faith at all if I'm not going to physically see the result of it?" However, this question would be foolish to ask, given the Lord's promises written all throughout His Word:

    Jeremiah 29:11 (NASB)- "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope."

    Psalm 138:8 (KJV)- "The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands."

    Isaiah 55:11 (KJV)- "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."

    Numbers 23:19 (NASB)- "God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?"

    Faith is the made-up, renewed mind to believe on the things and promises of God. Belief is the actual walking out of the made-up, renewed mind; putting into action your faith. Belief is showing the Lord (and yourself) that what He says is true and that you're going to walk in it. You may not yet see the manifestation in the physical but you see it in the spiritual until it manifests itself into the physical as is already in heaven. This belief-walk may look and sound crazy to your surroundings, or to those who don't have the same vision, but it wasn't their vision to begin with. God gave you the vision and the call. Walking out your faith in your belief makes the miracles, promises, and power of God part of our natural walk, because we have been expecting it and walking in it before it manifested here on earth.

    "Man! How are you so calm and everything's been taken from you?" Your response would (or should) be Jeremiah 29:11, especially when you know you have been obedient and in the Lord's will. No lows of lows should bring you to curse God, but to praise Him the more knowing He's got it all in control. This brings me to the title of this blog: The Faith Resumé. When trials, tests, temptations, etc. have come your way (or you're possibly in one right now) what has been your response? When God has told you to move and it makes no sense at all, what has been your response? What's your response? Your response will determine how your faith resumé turns out. 

    For example, a snippet of my resumé would look like this: Chelseá Harris, 30 years' old, born Sept 30th 1992, asked to be used by God, God gives scripture Luke 12:48 and tells her to give an "x" amount of money to friend (a lot of money), it seems out-of-sorts to her but she does it anyway, Chelseá has acted out her faith in God.

    Another example: Chelseá Harris writes a manuscript to a book, she knows this is the Lord's doing, however she sits and waits over a year to publish it because of outside gander, Chelseá did not immediately act on her faith in the Lord, rather she listened to the world and not her Father. 

    We really have to map out our faith resumé when it comes to our relationship with the Lord, because this can be a determinant of how close we really are to Him. How do you call yourself so close to God when you don't trust in Him; evidenced by you not moving when He says to move? The Lord values your faith and trust in Him, and a healthy relationship involves full trust in the other and vice versa. How can the Lord trust you when you have it in your heart not to trust Him? Show God and move! Show God and do! Do what He has asked of you from years' past. Do what He has asked since yesterday. Even if it's as simple as cleaning your house, the Lord is teaching you and testing you at the same time wondering if you can be obedient to just the simplest of tasks. You can watch God grow in you if you have the faith to step out on His Word. How can He grow in you if you don't expand your space? What does your faith resumé look like? 

**Prayer time! 💓- Dear Lord, we thank you for your grace and mercy. For your river that never runs dry. Your river of oversupplying love, tenderness, and mercy. You see our faults, our hearts, and still say, "I can work with that". Lord, nothing is too impossible with you, but with us it is and we thank you for that. We thank you that we can come boldly but humbly before your throne, asking for your strength, asking for your courage and boldness to get through just one day. Father, thank you that you have helped us with our unbelief at times. You have forced us to move out of our comfort-zones and jump into the pool where we can't see the bottom. However, we know without fear or doubt that you are there to keep us from drowning. Drowning in our own tears, sorrows, and fears. God you are so amazing, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. You have always had our backs, even when we felt alone. Lord, our faith is in you. Bring us closer to you Father day by day by renewing our minds to stay focused on you always. Expand us Father, by pushing us to walk in the direction you have commanded us to. Make us into the children you have called us to be, declaring your glory. In Jesus' Name-Amen.**