Continuing to have faith

As I've told many of our friends recently, life is so clear and unclear at the same time. I'm not quite understanding what God wants for our lives, but after praying with a dear friend last night I've discovered that right now he just wants us to wait. At one point, we thought relocating closer to my husband's job was a good idea. And now we wonder if moving closer to family is a better idea. Either way, at this moment, no doors are opening for us to make a move. I feel like I have a little whisper telling me, "just wait..."

In church on Sunday, our pastor talked about faith that lives. So many times, we Christians think that we can handle our own situation when really we need to continue to give it to God. I constantly struggle with this. I start thinking of all of the things I want or think that I need. "I'd like a van with less miles on it ... It'd sure be nice to live near all of my friends and family again ... I wish my husband made just a little more money ..."

In reality, I should not be focused on what I think are the issues in my life. When it comes to having a faith that lives, as our pastor put it, we have to create an atmosphere for God to do His work. This passage included in the sermon really got to me!

James 2:17-20 MSG

^14-17Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?

 ¹⁸I can already hear one of you agreeing by saying, "Sounds good. You take care of the faith department, I'll handle the works department."

   Not so fast. You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove.

 ^19-20Do I hear you professing to believe in the one and only God, but then observe you complacently sitting back as if you had done something wonderful? That's just great. Demons do that, but what good does it do them? Use your heads! Do you suppose for a minute that you can cut faith and works in two and not end up with a corpse on your hands? 

To say we have faith is one thing. To actually have it as another. It is really important for us to have quiet moments with God. Try to do a short devotional each day. I personally use YouVersion because once you make an account you can use it from your computer or even from a cell phone. Let the Word of God feed you and apply it to your life. You'll be amazed at how things will change when you have faith that lives.

Colossians 3:16 NIV

¹⁶ Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

*This post includes my thoughts and how I feel God spoke to me during our church's most recent sermon. I do not claim any ownership over this sermon. I was not asked nor compensated to include a link to YouVersion.com. It is my own personal recommendation. This post is considered a personal update of my life.

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