Living a Fulfilled Life by Faith

Faith is a word that we hear a lot in church. What is it and how does it work? How do we know the difference between someone who is living a life of faith and someone who is not? The Bible gives a simple definition of faith. It tells us what real faith is all about. Proverbs 3:5-6 says; “Trust in the Lord with all you heart and do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” What does it mean to trust? Any time we trust it involves risk. All of life is a risk. Faith is risking. The greatest risk and adventure in life is that of relationship and a relationship to God. Is the risk worth it? You’d better believe it is! Jesus taught us that the greatest mistake in life is to play it safe, to not take the risk of relating to God. If we risk it in a relationship with God we’ll find everything we ever wanted. We can’t always see where we are going, that is the risk of faith. There are moments in our lives when we come right up to that cliff, right up to that edge, where we have to take the risk of faith. What risk of faith are you right on the edge of right now? When we have an important decision to make, we sometimes feel that we can’t trust anyone – not even God. But God knows what is best for us; He is a better judge of what we want than we are. We must trust him completely in every choice we make. God knows our heart. He knows what we need. But He often has a different way of giving us what we need than we would expect. He tells us not to depend on our own understanding There’s a moment of life when you say, “God, I’m going to trust your way.” That’s the way of faith. Faith is relying on God. It’s leaning on Him. It’s saying, “God’s way not my way in life.” Trust in the Lord with all your heart, don’t lean on your own understanding, and acknowledge Him and he will make your life work. He doesn’t say he will make you healthy and wealthy. He doesn’t say He’ll make you comfortable, popular or thin. Psalm 34:8 says; “Taste and see that the Lord is good; oh, the joys of those who trust in Him.” As we trust him daily, we experience how good he is. Faith is expecting God will act and He will. Maybe one day at a time or maybe one problem at a time or one relationship at a time, just one step at a time. We just need to trust Him for tomorrow, we need to trust Him with a decision. Faith is not a leap into the darkness. It’s a step into the light, God’s light. But it’s still a scary step. Even in that anxiety there’s also anticipation. There’s the excitement of expecting God to act. God says we can expect him to act in our lives because of his love for us. We can have faith in him. What is the next big step of faith that we need to take? That’s where we can expect God to act. God blesses people who are not afraid to trust Him completely. That is what we call the faith factor. What’s the secret? It’s getting more faith. The Bible says, “According to your faith it will be done unto you.” So what are you doing in faith? You need to ask yourself every day when you get up, “God, what can I do today that will require faith?” This year we want to help you grow in faith so please join us on Sunday mornings to learn more about how to live the fulfilled life through faith.