20 miles

I have recently had so many say to me, "I wish I could be like you" or "I wish my faith was as strong as yours" to which I reply, "there is NOTHING good about me except Jesus"! I guess I know what they are trying to say, because I too am inspired by others faith and it usually encourages me in a time when I need it most. So I started praying and asking God to help me know how to handle these situations, because I in no way want to bring glory to myself or my life!!!! He took me back to times in my life where I didn't feel His power, His presences or hear His voice. Back to those mediocre times when my Christian life was missing something. But as I would search scripture and exercise my communication with God - the Holy Spirit would search me! And would always reveal to me that I was not exercising an ACTIVE faith that really believed God would do for me those things He did for people in the Bible.

Faith is the highway of moving trust that allows us to experience God in our everyday lives!  If faith is our highway - how many of us would jump on 59/20 or 459- stop and park in one of the lanes and say, "well I am on the highway this is good - just knowing that this road leads to my destination is good enough for me"! None of us would ever do that and we think that it is silly to think that we would - but we do that with our faith all the time!!! None of us actually live like that in our everyday life so why do we expect that to work in our faith life? God is looking for some people who believe He is who He says He is and He can do what He says He can do!!! Is that you? Don't be afraid to take your car out of park on the highway and move forward in obedience. When you obey you move from your agenda to His, and His plan is always GREATER!!!  Notice I didn't say easier only greater.


Let's look at a great example of active moving faith. John 4:46-54.  Here we have a royal official who's son is sick and dying. The dad (the royal official) walked 20 miles to see Jesus. I thought wow - we have people who aren't willing to even drive a few miles in the rain to come to church and all the other pitiful excuses we give today. But he walked 20 miles - would your faith carry you 20 miles? How about even 5? So he walks 20 miles to ask Jesus to come and heal his son and at his second request to come and heal his son - Jesus says 4 words to him, "Go your son lives" Now remember Jesus didn't leave and go with him like we see in other miraculous resurrections and times he healed - they are still 20 miles away and Jesus simply says 4 words to him. Now don't miss that it says - "and the man believed what Jesus said and started home." So he believed and started home!!! wow, he took Jesus at His word. He didn't weigh his options and talk about what if this and what if that, and ask a million questions and ask for signs that what He said was true - he believed and started home. I think we don't do that enough - just believe Jesus for what HE says and move in our faith.

Now just think what the journey would have been like if he hadn't  had an active faith - he believed the words of Jesus to confidentially walk home!!! If we really believe what Jesus says we should have confidence to walk home. See God's word is enough. Having faith like that will enable us to walk in confidence even when all we have to hold on to is His word. If God has spoken clearly to you about something - take your car out of park on the highway and start moving toward it in obedience so you don't miss the glorious moment when your faith becomes sight. See the fathers faith became sight when he got home and saw his son alive.

I am looking forward to seeing my faith become glorious sight when I arrive in Mexico to live among the people and see my Father do His work!!! I long for that day more and more each passing mile as I walk to where He told me to go and see that He can be trusted and He is who He says He is and He does what He says He will do.  I feel like my walk had been way more than 20 miles with lots of obstacles and wild animals along the way - BUT He has never left me or forsaken me - just like He said!!

Music is a key in our family and I am pretty sure I will always be able to find a song to go along with every post I ever make