Commonsense

If there is one word in the English language I have grown to despise, it is the word realistic. When I hear it, it is like a double-edged sword driven in my heart. I am torn emotionally. On the one hand, the person adamantly professes their love for God. But as the discussion continues, I soon discover their destiny in jeopardy when they negligently exclude the power which rose Jesus from the dead. The context of realism sadly displays a lack of faith when uttered. So, though they know God, I do not know whether to rejoice…, or cry, because deep inside I know, they have not yet allowed themselves to let God be God. To relinquish the scientific…, the realistic…, the inevitable…, and obediently depend solely on Him. Trusting Him with a faith that could move mountains. So as Paul prays for those who have become fortunately blessed to know God (Ephesians 1: 17-19), I pray for them as well. For it is not enough to know him, but to also possess the knowledge of his great power, and how we have the opportunity to fulfill all our hopes and dreams by God’s grace. For there is nothing like releasing your cares, knowing that God’s power is so mighty, he is able to resolve, restore, bring into being, even the mightiest of circumstances to make better our lives.

For many of us, when introduced to God, and we acknowledge his existence, it is when our spiritual journey begins. At some point in our life, hope fills our heart, and “faith”, being “the substance of things hoped for (Hebrews11:1)”, is given to us by God. But we are human, and when we are challenged by what we do not see, it becomes more difficult to profess. And so, our newly acquired faith is then challenged, and we move on to the next chapter in our spiritual journey, “The Proficiency of your Faith 101”. Yes, we believe there is a God… but we put limitations on His abilities. If we did not actually see Jesus heal the sick man with leprosy, how can we be expected to believe he can heal a family illness which has been around for generations, much less feed our family with loaves of bread, and a couple of fish. In the bible, it says all that is needed is faith, the size of a mustard seed. So how do we bring ourselves to believe this faith trumps our pragmatic beliefs? When do we let our guard down, rule out commonsense, and give praise, knowing without a shadow of a doubt, He has us, and will not forsake us? Regardless of the circumstances, whether it be in health, relationships, or finances, we desperately need to incorporate hardcore faith into our life.

God will award us with grace but on the condition, we follow his instructions. So, in Corinthians 3: 11-15, if our foundation is that of Jesus Christ it will radiate in our lives. And if we subject ourselves to the instruction of those God has put before us, and humble ourselves to them, as in 1 Peter 5:5, God will anoint us with his grace. But for some of us, we are not mentally ready to give up control of our own lives. Or maybe, we are still immature in life itself, where we feel religion is for the old and feeble. We feel we have not lived enough yet, to relinquish control of our lives. But life happens, and circumstances do not always go according to plan, and we hit rock bottom. For me that ultimate faith came into play when I had absolutely nowhere else to turn. No plan. No direction. I was at the end of my rope. It was all I could do to look up and say God I need you. I surrender to you. And from that day forward my life has been the happiest it has ever been. I choke up when I compare my life to the before and after. It is like seeing the sun for the first time. Or smelling a rose. And I want to contain myself, but every time I think about his goodness, and my journey, I get so full inside. Back then, people always thought I was sad because they would see the tears rolling down my face. I knew he loved me back then, but now… If they thought I was sad then, they probably think I am in total misery now. With but an utterance of his goodness, tears fill my eyes, and warms me like nothing else in this world…  I pray that we all find this peace. It is awesome to understand and know, that because of God’s sacrifice, our sins are forgiven, and we can start anew. We can follow him and be set free from sickness, poverty, depression, unfair treatment, or at least the feeling of condemnation. The list goes on. And if we can learn this before we hit bottom…, “What a wonderful world”, as Louis would sing…

CWB