Faith

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Hebrews 10:12. Think of that for a minute, 'being sure of what we hope for'. God wants us to have faith by trusting that he will provide for what we need. God gave us three things: faith, hope and love...the greatest is love; 1 Corinthians 13:13. Hope is defined as [the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best]. We 'hope' things will turn out for the best, and we can express 'faith' by placing that hope in God.

Throughout 2011 the one lesson that keeps coming back to me is Faith. When we moved to Georgia in 2008 the financial meltdown ensued. From that point forward it has been a struggle to maintain our small construction company. There has been gaps between jobs that have lasted 2-3 months. I have had the feeling that I want to store up savings so when things get really bad we'll have something to fall back on. We rented an apartment and then a house for the first 3 years we lived here and I was happy about that because there was no pressure of having to make a mortgage payment. I missed several paychecks, and I would dream about finding a project that would provide us with guaranteed paychecks for the next six months. That way I wouldn't have to worry. Coming into 2011 I had been married for 3 and a half years but I didn't really want to think about having kids because I didn't think I was doing a good enough job providing for just two people.

Then 2011 happened and my world was turned upside down. My wife suffered through illness, I missed paychecks, I could barely see more than a week into my future. Everything was uncertain. But that's when I knew, you have to turn your worries over to God. Matthew 6:25 says, "therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear". Verse 26 & 27: "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?"

The fact is, I may want to control my life, but I am not in control at all. And I know that if I let God take the wheel everything will work out. It's scary to do, after all you have to be certain of what you do not see; but as the passage says in Hebrews that is part of what faith is.

As the year moved along I realized that I had to rely on God to make things work together for good, I could not do it. And then I learned another lesson about faith, 'just do it'. I was in a Bible study and a woman said, 'we all look for a sign from God about whether or not we should do something, but unless you're struggling with a moral issue than you just have to step out on faith and do it'. That was huge for me and my wife. What we realized was that while we were praying for signs we were also procrastinating to take leaps of faith.

We had used up almost all our savings for various reasons by the summertime, but we found a way we could purchase a house. And with no projects on the books at work we made an offer and signed a contract to buy one. A week later, we landed a big project. That's just how God works. If you trust in him, having faith that he will provide, then he will. He will open a door when you need it. He will close a door when he doesn't want you to go there. It seems like every week that point keeps getting driven home to me: keep the faith. Once you take that huge monkey of 'worry' off your back, it is amazing. Having faith that God will provide for you and your family is the most comforting feeling in the world.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28


JB