Terri's Wellspring

“You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.” Matthew 17:20 NLT

God requires us to put our trust fully in Him. Filling our hearts and minds with His promises of love, protection and provision leaves no space for doubt to take root and to thrive.

Our scripture describes faith, even the size of a mustard seed as extremely powerful. I have seen a mustard seed, which is round, yellow and incredibly small. It is also hard and seemingly impenetrable. It is solid. I think about the message of this passage concerning the capacity of the power within us. If we have solid faith, even on a small scale we can have powerful results.

Show me the right path, O Lord;

point out the road for me to follow.

Lead me by your truth and teach me,

for you are the God who saves me.

All day long I put my hope in you.

Psalm 25:4-5

Walking in faith requires strength and endurance. While the Lord has been faithful to provide direction along the journey, this season has been full of the unexpected. Much like a winding road, I have encountered curves, twists and even rest stops. The Lord met my need each step of the way. This experience has made me stronger and provided the liberty to move in peace.  I am thankful to God that we can put our hope, our trust and faith in Him. In a place of hope, we can expect God’s best on behalf of His children. A strong trust gives us the confidence and boldness to move when and where He directs. Our faith in God makes our journey possible. My Hope today is that God will do exceedingly, abundantly above and beyond all that we can ask or think

A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. When they had rowed about three or three and a half miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” John 6:18-20 

We thank God for His leading in our lives. Making big decisions is never easy but when we need His guidance, He is faithful to direct our path. Sometimes our journey takes us into unchartered waters, outside of our comfort zone and out of our preconceived notions about how things will happen. I imagine that when the disciples were crossing the turbulent waters, they did not think that they would see Jesus walking on top of the waves.   We may be asking ourselves, “Is this you Jesus?” in the middle of the situation that we are facing today. Even though I have not experienced a burning bush or a booming voice from heaven, I believe that God provides tools for direction. I am thankful that we can first ask for guidance in prayer. Then listen for His voice. His voice may be an urging through the Holy Spirit to move in a certain way. We may also experience God-given ideas that support next steps. We may even receive confirmation from the Saints about what the next steps may look like.   One ultimate confirmation is that it should be consistent with God’s Word. He leads us into paths of righteousness and not based on our own level of thinking. When we know it’s Him or the Great I am, we can step out of the boat with confidence and faith remembering to keep our eyes and ears on Him.

Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

I have promised that I will keep Your Law.

And I will add strength to this promise.

Psalm 119:105-106

We can thank God for the grace and mercy that He provides for our lives. The Holy Spirit is able to provide strength, peace and joy along our journey. The next steps forward can be unsure and even difficult. It requires us to put our trust squarely in His hands. He empowers our journey with guidance and the ability to thrive where He is leading us. Listening closely for the directions, watching for the signs and seeking the confirmations that the path is ahead will help to assure that He is directing our path. We can be assured that He will send us in a direction that is consistent with His word, that will lead us toward Holy living and that will help us to achieve His purpose for our lives.

The way forward is through Him with our faith and trust to move where He is leading.

I love the Lord, because he hears me;  

He listens to my prayers.

He listens to me every time I call to Him.

Psalm 116:1 -2

Our Heavenly Father hears our prayers.  When we seek to talk to God, we can be assured that He is listening.  Whatever we are experiencing, we can approach Him with thanksgiving in our hearts and share the concerns for our lives and for others. We can seek His forgiveness when we have sinned and come short of His expectations of us.  He is Faithful and just to forgive us when we ask God for forgiveness and turn from our mistakes.  God is faithful to guide our steps when we don’t know what to do next.  His Holy Spirit is able to provide peace that goes beyond understanding when we need Him to hold our hearts and minds together.  Whatever is on our hearts today, go to the Lord in prayer.  As His children, He hears us.

One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up.  Luke 18:1

“You keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.” Isaiah 26:3-4

Faith is the evidence of things not seen. This calls us to imagine our situation in a blessed condition even when things may appear to be so far from our prayer. We have to continue to say, act and move forward according to God’s promises – even when the bank balance is low, the doctors report is negative or other disappointments may come our way. Even when we don’t understand, we have to have faith and trust that He is working it out for our good. Our faithful Father is working on our behalf and He promises to be with us every step of the way. Our Trust is in the Lord.

Surrender yourself to the Lord, and wait patiently for him.
Do not be preoccupied with an evildoer who succeeds in his way
when he carries out his schemes.  Psalm 37:7 GW

I’m learning patience is truly a virtue while awaiting an answered prayer. I think it is fair to say that the meantime presents a challenge for most of us. Even though we worry and feel anxious, we learn that these are only unproductive emotions. We know in our hearts that our God is control and that we must continue to put our faith in Him.   We even know that God’s timing is best.  But ultimately we must release the situation squarely in God’s hands.  There we can rest in faith, with peace in our hearts and with praises on our lips that He is well able to meet our need and even the desires of our heart.

Be still in the presence of the LORD, 
and wait patiently for him to act. 
Don’t worry about evil people who prosper 
or fret about their wicked schemes.  Psalm 37:7 NLT

My grace is all you need, for my power is greatest when you are weak. I am most happy, then, to be proud of my weaknesses, in order to feel the protection of Christ’s power over me.  II Corinthians 12:9 GNT

God’s grace and mercy help to shape our path along life’s journey. We experience peaks, valleys, twists and turns along the way creating this journey we call life. What a blessing that along the way, we grow, mature and learn in our walk with the Lord. Our experiences sometimes teach us lessons about so many aspects about our living according to His word.

Whatever God’s Grace may bring into our lives, we can be assured that He is with us and He is able to provide for our needs. This passage reminds us that His strength is made perfect in our weakness.  I am so thankful for salvation and my life journey that the Lord has created for me. Sometimes we would like to know about the unexpected and to avoid the undesired events in our lives but our Faithful Father promised to provide the strength that we need. This journey will make us stronger as we put our faith and trust in Him. His grace is sufficient for me.

Faith means being sure of the things we hope for and knowing that something is real even if we do not see it. Faith is the reason we remember great people who lived in the past. Hebrews 11:1-2 New Century Version

Anticipating God’s promises coming to past, can take longer than we would like. We may even feel like we are moving backwards. But Faith (not fear or fainting) “is having confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.” God has called us to believe confidently in what He has promised even though it may not be visible. Hebrews 11 is full of examples of people who operated on Faith and not fear despite very difficult circumstances. Some of them were called to make sacrifices that we can’t imagine but in every case, God fulfilled His Word.

I think of the Faith Heroes in my life. Nina Mae Williams, my grandmother who stood tall for Holiness and righteousness, and prayed for her family today and in the future. Those prayers are alive, even though she passed more than two decades ago. She stood tall in the gap for family members who were not believers with prayers and Faith. I thank God for her example and that of my mother, Gene, who prays everyday for her children, grandchildren and now great grandchildren, name by name. What a legacy of love and Faith. They both know the power of prayer and God’s inability to fail.

So today, as we walk this journey, have Faith in God, trust Him with all your heart and don’t depend on what you feel or what you see. God is Faithful to meet our needs.