“I’ve gone through enough faith trials. What is God testing again?”. This is something anyone close to me must have heard in one of those times of telling me “your Faith is only being tried”. This is because I’ve had, and still have, many encounters that will pass as “trying of my faith”.
I remember asking the Holy Spirit to tell me the “section” of my faith walk that he wants me to talk about.
Sometimes, I can’t but think the “Faith” in my name is the reason I encounter this much. There are times I feel great about it, because it pushes me to hold on still, and there are other times I just wonder why God is busy working out my faith, like, isn’t it enough? Haven’t I had enough?
It was recently God told me clearly “your faith walk is a journey”. This didn’t make much sense at first, but it gradually did as he took me through it.
I’ve never really seen it this way. I’ve never really thought of it as a bumpy journey where I get hit too many times. I have never really seen it as something that won’t stop after one trial, because it’s a never-ending-process to groom me to run this Christian race till the end.
Hebrews 11: 1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”.
This is how we are saved. From being rest assured that an invisible God has embraced us into his arms. To being rest assured that we have peace and that this God will actually carry us through. This is how we are saved and this is how we will run this race.
My faith walk is a journey. I meet different sides of it along the line, but they are all of help in my Christian race.
I’ll talk about the “section” of my faith walk that God has been teaching me lately, which is about trust and patience. As much as I’d like to share the “big part”, it’s not what God is directing me to. The purpose of this is not to glorify me and ‘my strength’ (which isn’t mine) but to make you understand how your faith walk should work, which is through patience and trust.
James 1:2-4 “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the TRYING of your faith worketh PATIENCE, but let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be PERFECT and ENTIRE, wanting more”. (KJV)
“Consider it sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is FORCED into the open and SHOWS its TRUE COLORS. So, don’t try to get out of anything PREMATURELY. Let it do its work so you become MATURE and well-developed, not DEFICIENT in any way”. (MSG)
I’m constantly learning to trust God’s words and be patient till he fulfils his word. To allow patience to have her perfect work so that I (my Christian race) can end up perfect and mature.
If John 14:14 says “if ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it” and Numbers 23:19 says “God is not a man, that he should lie”,
Why then should I ask something in HIS NAME and still think he will not do it?
Why then should I know he has called me to be the head and rule above my peers and still think it can’t happen?
Why then should I see Matthew 6:25-26 about how I shouldn’t think hard on what to eat or drink, because I am better than the fowls of the air that God takes care of, and still think God is kidding with me?
Why then do I still bother myself over something God can take care of?
Do I think he’s lying, as opposed to Numbers 23:19?
Do I think the one who created the universe and everything in it will not clothe me and provide everything I need if I ask in his name?
Disbelief. Lack of trust and patience.
Trust is holding on to his word and believing he’ll do as he says.
Patience is waiting for him to do it, no matter how long, and not considering an option he hasn’t asked you to.
Patience is not worrying even when it’s the die minute, because you know God’s got you.
Like I mentioned earlier, I’m talking about what God has been teaching me lately. So, I’ll share one of my latest faith experiences with trust and patience.
Last month, I was planning an outreach for TMO . It was meant to take place in four different locations on the same day. When we drew the budget, it blew me off. It was scary at first, because when we finalized plans, we had very little time to the event. But if there was anything I was sure of at that moment, it was that the outreach would happen on that day.
Nothing anyone was going to say would make me postpone or cancel it. This is what happens when God is involved in a thing and you are certain of what he’s saying about it. It makes the faith walk with trust and patience much easier.
I knew it’d happen on the 24th, but I didn’t know how.
And you know, Faith is the EVIDENCE of things you CANNOT see. Faith isn’t having a glimpse; it is having no idea what it is, but just believing it will come through somehow.
Gradually, things were falling into place. I had to make sure other locations were settled to an extent or looked like they would be settled. Then, I had my own location left. I needed about $100 to pull mine.
Brethren, the outreach was on the 24th but as at 20th, I didn’t have a coin to testify that something like a village outreach would happen.
You know, I was meant to be scared and running helter-skelter just so “I’ll not be put to shame, after all the publicity”. But, lie! That would have been God putting himself to shame, because it was his work and my job was to handle it here on earth. And because he’s not a God that should lie and he will not say a thing he wouldn’t do, I always trust him to act. I kept reminding him how it is HIS WORK and however he wants to do it, I DON’T KNOW!
I remember telling a couple of people who kept asking how much I’d been able to gather that “all I know is that it will happen on the 24th. That’s all. How the money will come through? I don’t know. When God is done with other locations, he’ll fix this too”. Because it’s been a long journey in this faith walk, and it’ll be disappointing if at this point, I crumbled. Over something I know he has done before and will do again? When I know he always shows up?
I’ve exercised “crazy faiths” several times, I still am, and I know what it is. In the end, I feel great, because God always come through somehow. So, even though as at the 20th, there was no money yet, there was no interpreter either to help us relate with the villagers better, there was practically nothing; even though I had my blank purse staring at me and I was getting restless, I knew God would show up.
God shows up in different ways, and I don’t even try to think of how he’ll show up in a situation, because he won’t show up the same way he did the last time. And you know what’s fascinating? After the whole thing, you just sit down and wonder “what manner of supreme being is this? Abba!”. Yup! I love that feeling. I love to see a new side of him “show up”. Tell me why I won’t exercise patience and trust?
Did the outreach happen? Yes.
Did we get all we needed? Yes.
Did we get an interpreter? Yes.
Did it happen exactly as planned? No. It happened way better and easier. Remember I said God shows up in different ways—in a way that awes you in the end?
I got help from hopeless places. This thing about not putting your trust in men but in God? It works. Men will disappoint. I wish I had all the time to tell you how it went down, because it remains a miracle to me.
Those who showed up were people who never had anything to do with me. Were people who didn’t know me beyond my name, that there was a certain “Faith Kolawole” somewhere who would be organizing an outreach. Were people who stood with me and went through the stress. Were older people who didn’t quite understand what little me was trying to pull out until we converged that morning, but were ready to serve without complaints. Were people I never saw coming. Were people I can never repay!
Faith is an evidence of things NOT seen. Things you don’t see coming but certain would happen.
Faith is trust and patience. Trust that God will do what he says he will. Patience that he is NEVER too late to make it happen as long as you get a leading from him and you still get him very much involved.
- Faith is holding on to the word even when things are falling apart
- It is seeing the positivity in that project that seems like it’d never work
- It is knowing that although the school portal closes soon and you’re yet to pay your fees, something will still happen. Even if the money doesn’t come through, God will still step in somehow, in a way you don’t know of.
- It is knowing that your house rent is expired and you have no dime! But you know that God who keeps the birds of the air will take care of your shelter, somehow.
- It is the strong belief that even though you have nothing to eat tonight, you won’t sleep hungry. Either you eat by a miracle or God fills you up.
- Even though you don’t have any foodstuffs and you’re certain nothing would come through, all things being equal, it is trusting that God who sent a Raven to feed Elijah can send someone to you or direct you to someone.
- It is knowing that you may go out hungry in the morning but will return home rejoicing.
- It is knowing that wherever you are and you get stranded, you have a BIG RICH God, the owner of the universe, who will take care of you.
ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS: ASK!
- Faith is being the widow in 2 Kings 4 pouring out her little oil into empty drums, believing BLINDLY that there would be extra oil.
- Faith is being the servants at the Wedding in Cana (John 2) who served the water-turned-into-wine to the governor of the feast, with no fears that the governor would spit out water and throw them into the prison.
- Faith is TRUSTING BLINDLY and holding on for God to come through for you.
- Faith is the assurance that although you don’t know how it’ll happen, you are certain God will show up.
- Faith is trust and patience.
Faith is a journey…
And in this journey, Romans 8:28 plays out: all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose. It’s a link you need in your Christian race.
To exercise this measure of faith with trust and patience, you need to:
- Be born again. This is the first place you exercise the faith, because you are saved through faith (Ephesians 2:8)
- Be devoted to the word (Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God Romans 10:17)
- Be spirit-filled and have the mind of Christ (1 John 2:20; 1 Cor 2:10,16)
- Build your life on prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
- Get God involved in everything
You need these four key things to be sure what you’re exercising is Faith and you’re not just waiting endlessly. That could be a disaster, because you end up wasting your time and still don’t get what you want.
My faith walk is a journey, and I’m still exploring…
My name is Faith and this is a glimpse of my faith walk.
Shared first on Voice Of Worth’s WhatsApp Group
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