He‘s not just a God who cares, He’s a God who can. Yes, He provides, but He also provides the provision.
Our God is a father but first and foremost he’s God: immeasurable and all powerful.
I'm currently in the process of moving house for the second time whilst living in Madrid. And I’ve learned a lot about faith in this season.
Faith means believing, yes, but it also means acting on your belief as well. It means going for something with the faith that God will come through. It certainly doesn’t mean sitting in your comfort zone and hoping faith will give you something that will magically fall in your lap.
When it comes to faith, I think we truly have it wrong. One of three things tend to happen. The first is that we doubt what the Lord told us and think, 'Perhaps I misunderstood when God gave me that promise. Perhaps I jumped the gun to assumes what I wanted to hear. Perhaps it was me this whole time.' And what's worse is that that perspective can creep up on us when it comes to any type of blessing God gives us, and not just one big one.
The second thing we do with our faith is instead of receiving it from the source, we either try and make it happen for ourselves (which most times will only end up hurting us eventually), or we foolishly take credit for it and refuse to see the hand of God upon our lives.
And the last way humanity tends to deal with God in faith is by refusing the blessing all together. All because we think we cannot handle it, or we aren't good enough for it. Well, if you've ever reacted one of these three ways (or maybe all) guess what? You're not the only one.
So then, where is our faith?
Why call ourselves Christians if we act as the world does? It's the world that should lack this type of faith, not the people that call themselves followers of the most high, immeasurable, all-powerful and incomprehensible God and Creator of the Universe. And yet I find myself in total dismay as to where my faith is most of the time.
Believing in Christ doesn’t just mean that we believe He’s up there in Heaven watching us. It’s belief that He lives with us, provides for us, comforts us, and lives this life along with us. And He does it far more beautifully than we can alone.
Remember that despite the amazing and loving father that He is, don’t forget that He is God. He’s not just an earthly father: yes He provides, but He also provides the provision. He doesn’t just help you with money when you need it, but He specificaly prepares the future ahead to give you the very best, to be in your pathway so that when you walk past it it’s impossible to miss. So that when you receive that financial breakthrough, it causes another ripple in the water, a blessing for someone else, a set-up for your next blessing or even a doorway to a new relationship. His provision doesn't just stop when the problem is solved.
That’s why we need faith. Because as similar as God is to us, He is also very different. And praise His name for having and being all that we are not!
Praise His name for having and being all that we are not!
I'm sitting here at my desk writing this post and trying to believe the words the Holy Spirit is writing through my fingers. I can't say it's easy. I can't say I'm going to keep doing it relentlessly. Yes, I did uphold faith last week and the Lord has provided a new house for me. But I now need faith to hold onto the house He gave me. Faith that He won't let me lose something He provided. For that is not the type of father that He is.
So whatever you're going through right now, whether it's big, small. Whether it's just a mere conversation that went down the wrong way with your partner or your parents, this counts for you too.
Let's be stronger together, and show God that the faith of a mustard seed is achievable (Matthew 17:20). We can move mountains, we can fight demons. And we can certainly believe that our victory is coming.
Just like Elijah (1 Kings 18): you may not see the clouds just yet, you may feel nothing but the scorching sun on your face and the desert land that has enveloped you for so long, but I promise you, the rain is coming!