Climbing mountains is difficult stuff. Sometimes to climb a mountain, God will send you down certain roads, even valleys, ones you have no idea why or when they end or where they turn. But you know he is sending you. So in faith, you go. Knowing that because he IS God, you will be just fine. But don't think for one second that because he put you on a certain path, anointed you to do what he sent you to do, and appointed a time for you to do it, that you will not be tested. God continually tests people's character, faith, obedience, love, integrity, and loyalty.
Your test could be a test of patience as was the case with Job. It could be a test of faith as in the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. It could be a test of love, for the depth of our love is revealed through trials. Other times it may be our endurance, humility, sacrifice or obedience which is being tested. Whatever the test is on your journey at a given time, your faith will surely be put under fire.
To me, those are the sweet spots of faith. You never really know how faithful you are from an intellectual level of perspective but rather by the actual testing and trying of your faith. Faith only becomes faith when we practice it.
You may feel like all hell is breaking loose around you and sometimes it may seem the more good you do, the more tribulations you have. There could be moments of darkness, solitude, where you feel that your spiritual life is a war zone, or your seeds are falling on dry or infertile land. You may grow weary or feel like you will never make it. You will be no stranger to betrayal, fear and doubt while in the depths of the valley.
When God wants to elevate us to new heights and bring us to new levels or stages in life, he doesn't always position us in our comfort zone. He will bring us to new territory and sometimes he will bring us back to the wilderness, sometimes disconnected from all we know and love in order to work out his purpose and will in us. We may no longer recognize the ppl in our inner circle or family. And in the midst of all of this, we have a tendency to question if God is sleeping, if he knows what we are experiencing, if he's too busy to get to attend to what plagues us.
We sometimes get the story of life and its plot twisted thinking that "In the beginning was me." When it should read, "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was God." That everything was made to glorify him. + One of the greatest ways we can honor and love God is with our faith. Our human or carnal mind will have us believing that what we see before us is the final chapter when if we trust God, like our life depends on it, because it does, we find new life, possibilities and more than we could have imagined or done for ourselves.
One of the main reasons we choose not to trust God is because we don't trust ourselves, our own human frailty, our weaknesses and imperfection. We have to eventually realize that being human isn't being perfect. That we are enough, that we are worthy and that only he has the ability to make our weaknesses strengths.
When God appoints us for a task, too often we are concerned with what we don't have rather than looking at what is in our hands and also what is in our hearts. Sometimes we compare our very personal journey to that of others, failing to appreciate the rare and unique beauty that is our gift of life. We embark on our journey knowing God is with us.
But what happens to our faith during the Job moments? Moments when we are in the belly of the beast, or the edge of a cliff wondering if we can fly? Moments that have you wondering if you made the right choice, or if you have gone crazy in some instances. There will be times when you'll hang loosely to your faith, frustrated because you are not where you want to be personally, financially, physically or the myriad other ways we barter our personal success and acumen.
What happens to our faith at times when you feel like you are under constant attack, fighting a battle within a battle. Those are the times to affirm your faith and Trust God and yourself more! God would not put the desire in your heart to accomplish a thing if he had not given you the ability to not only start, but complete the task.
Trust that you have enough faith Trust that you have enough courage Trust that you will survive the valley Trust the lessons you are meant to learn Trust your gut and discernment Trust that you are loved and that God would never leave you alone Trust that you are already equipped with everything you need to see it thru Trust that you can manifest what you can envision. Trust the process Trust God and what he's entrusted you stewardship over.
We will all have moments that challenge us. Welcome to the human race. We live life on levels and we arrive in stages. I encourage you to trust yourself and trust God, for every lesson we learn is intended to build character and strength in us. Count it all joy, keep the faith and trust yourself. Don't give up. Everything you want is on the other side of that trial, that fear, that disappointment. You're gonna make it. God is on your side. Trust. -Freedove
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