And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. Philippians 1:6
Faith is a risky business. It can take us places we never expected to be and by a completely different way than we thought. We might think we know the direction we are headed, certain of the answer, certain of the way we will go and then – there we are – facing the opposite way, traveling a road we never imagined we would be on. And we might think we are not gonna make it – that the road looks too steep and we will surely lose our footing and fall but we keep putting one foot in front of the other because it’s what we know to do.
We stay on the journey because we believe in His goodness and His love and have chosen faith rather than giving up and we have chosen faith over despair and we have chosen His way because – – – He knows the beginning and the end.
Our pride may take a beating – some might say we’re fools for believing because the path we are on doesn’t look like anything they know and isn’t it better to stick to the well worn way that everyone travels on, it’s wide, with no surprises, no pitfalls – – – yet we have chosen faith.
And when we find ourselves not in the place we thought we would be or it’s not the answer we thought would come – have we failed? Did we get it wrong? Did our faith not work?
Paul’s journey of faith took him to jail where he began writing his letter to the Philippian church. I doubt that was where he saw himself when he began to follow and preach the message of Jesus. Although locked up in what would have been hellish conditions – facing cold, damp and starvation – it doesn’t end him, we don’t see him questioning his faith or where he went wrong or wondering was he being punished – instead he says this And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. Wow!! Paul’s relationship with Jesus and His calling to preach the gospel was a certainty – a done deal – the rest was circumstance.
Our faith isn’t defined or measured by the circumstance or the place we find ourselves – our faith is what separates us from the circumstance, it’s what takes us through it rather than being consumed by it, our faith is our heart journey with God. With it we see what’s unseen, we start to see the purpose and the reason and we start to see that the view from where we are although different to what we expected might be a really a good one. And the best bit – He is there with us.
“Cease striving and know that I am God; – – – – The LORD of hosts is with us – – -” Psalm 46:10-11
If you have believed Him and followed Him, hung on to him for dear life, inclined your heart to Him and not given up – – – regardless of where you find yourself – your faith is all good – valuable in it’s own right – as precious as gold.
Have a great day
Lv Tracey xx
Exercise with Cherry
Is on today 4.30pm at the reserve on Murra Murra Rd, Kanahooka Point. Walking, cardio & boxing. 30 minute session. Suitable for all fitness levels.