In scripture we are given the understanding that faith is believing God for a future that is yet unseen, almost like driving a car towards a destination that only becomes clearer as we move towards it.
Often though, our faith may feel sluggish, slow to get into gear and quick to divert off course. The reason this is the case is not because of the doubt in the promise that’s in front of us, but more so what we have (if we can play on the illustration) allowed to take residence in our rear-view mirror, a seat in the back of our car.
Here are three things that we need to deal radically with if our faith is not going to stall out:
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THE SEAT OF COMPROMISE
The American pop sensation Katy Perry once sang, “You’re hot and you’re cold, you’re yes and you’re no, you’re in then you’re out, you’re up then you’re down”. Sure these words were penned for a different context but they so very realistically could describe the lack of conviction many of us have when it comes to our walk of faith. Compromise disguises itself in our lives as tolerance or as seeing how things will play-out, but compromise and living with watered down convictions will drag your faith back quicker than anything else.
If faith is seeing the invisible, compromise sets in when we allow our eyes to fixate on temptation and our weakness in the face of it.
And here is where the biggest problem is. We think the best way to combat compromise is to make bigger promises, beat our chests and dig deeper within ourselves to “toe the line”. Religion makes us make many promises to God, where true revelation of what Christ has done on our behalf is understanding that God has made promises to us!
Compromise gets in not because we are not trying hard enough, but because we are not believing God! Faith can be simply described as “believing God!”
WANT TO GET RID OF COMPROMISE? LEARN TO SEE HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS MORE THAN YOUR OWN
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SEAT OF COMFORT
If the allure of comfort had a theme song, it would most definitely be Bob Marley’s “don’t worry about a thing, cause every little thing is gonna be alright”. The bait that the enemy uses for us to be suckered into allowing comfort to take root in our lives is by getting our eyes to be tantalized into seeing ease, apathy and excuses.
Too often we wonder why there seems to be a lack of power, passion and forward momentum in our walk with Christ, and although we desire it, the spirit of comfort and convenience lulls us back to sleep before we step out of our stupor and into the future.
Desire is not enough. Faith is only faith when we obey! Otherwise it’s just wishful thinking.
The favour of God is waiting to be unleashed on our lives but what too many of us fail to see is that the more favour we receive; the more faith it will require to walk in it!
Walking in more favor will require you to exert more faith, because it’s going to take you places you’ve never been, and require you to do things you’ve never done. Things you can’t do, apart from Jesus. When you ask God for favor, He answers with opportunity, and as you seize the opportunity, He empowers you with His presence, and equips you with His power.
WANT TO GET RID OF THE GRIP OF COMFORT? LEARN TO SEE WHAT GOD HAS FOR YOU AND HAVE A COURAGE TO MOVE TOWARDS IT
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SEAT OF CRITICISM
Lastly comes the most sinister, easily disguised and hardest to dislodge of all the things we can allow to slip into the “back-seat” of our lives. If criticism and cynicism had an anthem to accompany them, it would be something like One Republic’s “It’s too late to apologize” because the enemy knows that where we have been wounded and hurt carries our greatest potential for bitterness or for freedom.
Where we have been wounded and hurt carries our greatest potential for bitterness or for freedom.
Criticism and cynicism gets us seeing faults, seeing failure, and resolutely staring into the past.
“I can’t honour my boss/ my wife/ my dad/ my friend/ my pastor…do you know what THEY said to me/ did to me/ didn’t do for me?”
“I’ve seen too much” or “I haven’t seen enough” become the lenses that cloud any vision of a potential different future.
As hard as it might sound, “they” will stop you walking into your future, and in a very real way continually gives the voice of those who hurt or offended you more authority than God in your life. Looking back will take all your energy and effort and drains your faith and drags down the faith of those around you as well.
In the Old Testament we find a law concerning the Priests who were to minister in the Temple that they could not enter the Holy Place if they had scabs (unhealed wounds) on them. The reason being that God didn’t want them ministering out of their woundedness! How much more for us who are called to minister the New Covenant!
This by no means validates whatever pain has happened to you, but rather it’s a call to not allow it to define you or your future. It’s time to get healed, time to forgive, time to rip that seat right out of your backseat and as you do so, the path forward will become clearer in front of you. Before you waters are parting, behind you the wheels of chariots are sounding. Which direction will you choose to look?
WANT TO GET RID OF A CRITICAL AND CYNICAL HEART? YOUR FAITH IS DEPENDENT ON WHICH DIRECTION YOU LOOK
THE FUTURE IS CALLING
Our futures are calling us and we move into them not by trying harder or gripping the steering wheel of our lives tighter. Rather we let the voice of grace, the voice of Jesus, have the loudest voice.
You’re not just an addict. You’re not just luke-warm. You’re not just a victim. You’re a son. You’re a daughter. You’re His.
This is our faith.
Blog written by Gabe Phillips
Gabe and Fiona lead the Life Changers Milnerton and City congregations