FAITH Fountain

"Faith is like a fountain.  Both rise up from the inside and freely flow out making a pond of blessing around you.  Both create far-reaching ripples in your life, in your circumstances, and in the lives of the people around you." (Quoted from Junk or Joy)

We all have faith.  The question is simply what our faith is in.  Some people put their faith in their job, their relationships, their money, and themselves to name a few things.  There is nothing wrong with having faith in everyday, natural things.  We all have faith in gravity.  It is a universal law that works the same whether we can see it or not and we expect it to work consistently so we learn to live by the "rule" of gravity.  However, there can be problems putting your faith in your job, people, money, etc.  These things are not consistent enough to depend on because you can lose them quickly through no fault of your own.  People will disappoint you sooner or later and you can even hurt yourself with wrong choices.

When things are consistent, it is easy to have faith in them.  For example, if parents are consistent, children know what they must do to make their parents happy and avoid their displeasure or punishment.  However, if the parents are inconsistent and yell at different things all the time, the child cannot figure out what the "rules" are.  This is known as "walking on egg shells" and it is difficult for relationships because it causes distrust.  It retards "faith" that life will be safe and that it is OK to make mistakes.  Inconsistency feeds fear.

Biblical faith is no different. Hebrews 11:1 says "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."  Faith is the assurance or confident expectation that God will do what He says He will do, even if it is unseen at the moment.  I will say from experience that He often fulfills his Word in unexpected ways and we make a grave mistake when we only see His answer if it looks like what we have in mind as the solution.  That reduces God down to our size so we can "figure Him out".  That is manipulation; not genuine faith (2 Cor. 13:5).

Where does faith come from?  God gives us all a measure of faith.  Faith grows as we exercise it, just like muscles grow when exercised.  As we trust God with small things and find Him faithful, our faith is strengthened and we can begin to trust God for larger things.  People we see with mountain moving faith, probably started out believing for small things and watching God meet them where they were.  We usually walk before we run.

What does faith do for us?  When things that are beyond our control, faith allows us to be at peace by trusting that God is for us and not against us and that He will work things out to our benefit.  When we ask God for help, faith often rises up from the inside and brings peace.  This might be difficult to see or acknowledge in the middle of a crisis, but often hindsight is our friend in this arena.  This faith fed peace is what "rises up on the inside of you and overflows to those around you", especially in trying times.  Have you ever been discouraged and called a "friend" who so sympathized with you that soon you were feeling worse than before.  I always choose to call a faith-filled friend who I trust to not get into the self-pity pit with me, but who reaches in by faith and pulls me out.  Faith can give strength to others around you as they see you at peace.

Why Biblical faith?  Without faith it is impossible to please God. (Heb. 11:1) Faith in God keeps fear and worry at bay.  Worry keeps us from living life to the fullest and fear paralyzes us and narrows our world experience to what is deemed "safe".  But God is with you wherever you go and He is faithful.  As He proves himself to you over time, His faithfulness keeps you full of faith. 

Faith can grow and even a mustard seed faith is powerful.  (Matt. 17:20).  So go ahead and take a "small step of faith" to trust God for something small.  I started giving Him my overwhelming schedule daily and was amazed to see how he could arrange my time efficiently, while keeping me on time for appointments.  Small steps are those that you can see the answer to rather quickly.  Another example is finding lost things.  Once an Apple watch was missing for 3 months so the battery was dead and it could not be tracked.  Once we asked God to find the watch, it showed up between the seats in the car within 24 hours.  I have found missing keys, papers, and even my Bible when I have asked God to help me find them. 

Try making two containers:  one with the things you are asking and believing God for and one for the answers.  Monthly you can review these and it will build your faith as you see God's faithfulness to answer.  Be careful to recognize and accept the answer even if it is not what you expected or in the timing you thought.  These small steps will build your faith muscles until you can make "leaps of faith" and even have faith to help others, believe for others, or pray healing for others.  That is when "the ripples in your pond of blessing and peace start reaching the ones you love".  Faith is God's answer to fear from the enemy!  Faith gives you courage to take risks and live life in peace. 

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