Questions Which I Ask Myself

I start each day with quiet time and my cup of coffee. I look forward to these moments alone while my husband and our pets are still sleeping. I do begin my thoughts by thanking God for the day and for His presence. He is never distant. He is always with me. I say, “Lord, I praise you and I glorify your Holy Name”. These are words which I lift up to Him throughout my day. “God inhabits the praise of His people” (Psalm 22:3). God wants us, his children, to talk to Him. He wants our spirits to hear His Spirit as He gives us answers to our questions and prayers. I listen to and hear His directions for my daily decisions because I know He is with me. I come to Him in faith, believing.

How has my faith grown?
My faith has grown from baby faith to mature faith because “my mind is stayed on Him” (Isaiah26:3). He promises to keep me in “perfect peace” because I trust Him.

How did I learn to trust Him?
I can always remember knowing that God was with me, but trusting Him and coming into a deep faith is a process. Believing is a choice. Trusting is a choice. Loving is a choice. As I think about loving the people in my life, I choose to believe in them and trust them. The love, belief, and trust come as we get to know each other more intimately. After years of marriage, a married couple knows how a spouse will react and we are even able to finish each other’s sentences. We don’t get to know someone if we don’t spend time with that person. God wants us to spend time with Him; an hour on Sunday mornings is not enough. The fact is, God is there even if an individual chooses not to believe and receive Him in their life. God never changes. Our lives change with our choices. Everyone searches for meaning in their life. We think that success, money, a mate, or a child etc. will bring us fulfillment and happiness. God promises that when we truly seek Him, He will fill that empty space and give us the peace we were striving for in all of the wrong places; a “peace that passeth understanding” (Philippians 4:7). It is a peace that transcends and surpasses all comprehension. In John 16:33 Jesus tells us, “I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart, I have overcome the world.”

I learned to trust God more completely during and after the most difficult time in my life. Thirty years ago, I had no where to turn, and no one to turn to, but to God and His Word. I tried to make sense of the deaths of Elisa and Carrie. My pain was so very deep. God brought me to the book of Job. I realized that Job was God’s most beloved servant. Job lost everything including his children. Job refused to blame God and never lost his faith. I KNEW that God loved me also. I realized that the faith, in my loving and all knowing God, was all that I possessed. I couldn’t count on any thing or any body else. His love and His grace were sufficient. I would trust Him and would trust that He has a purpose for my life. Although short, He also had a purpose for Elisa and Carrie’s lives. Job in Job 13:15 said, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him”.



How did I grow up in my faith?
I wanted a closer walk with God. I needed to listen to others who had been walking with God and had experienced God’s love and grace through personal encounters. At the time, I was sitting under the teachings of a pastor who seemed only to give book reports, and very little biblical teaching. My faith was already beyond where he was in his walk with the Lord. I went back to church with my parents. The pastor was mature in age and experience, and had a sincere believing faith. He preached the scriptures. Under his teaching I became sure of the fact that God abided in me, and I abided in Him. I knew that I was like the traveler walking on the beach in “Footprints in the Sand”. God was carrying me during this time of pain and suffering. When this became clear in my spirit, I knew that I would never be that lonely again. I can’t imagine a life with out God, without His presence, without His direction, and without His purpose. I would never feel alone again.

How do I keep growing in my faith?
“Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). I am sure of what I believe. My statement of faith is that which is found in the Apostle’s Creed and the Nicene Creed. I believe that the Bible is the Inspired Word of God. I believe that God hears my prayers and that He speaks to my spirit in many ways. I hear Him when I read my Bible and when I hear His word taught in Church and Bible Study. I see Him in the lives of others and in His creation. I don’t try to understand His ways. It is by faith that I believe, not by logic. In Isaiah 55:8, 9 God tells us that “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts”. I have found out that the more I believe, the more I want to be obedient, and the more I am boldly obedient, the more I see God’s power in my life and in answered prayer. When I remember what He has already done in my life, my faith is increased to believe for what He will do for me and others in the future. I know that prayer without faith is powerless and that prayer with faith is powerful.

Why me?
Faith is an awesome gift. I never take for granted the gift of faith which I have been given. God grows my faith and keeps me in perfect peace as I am in the Word and keep my mind stayed on Him. This promise is found in Isaiah 26:3. My faith grows because I continually seek a closer walk with my Savior. Salvation is the result of what Christ did for me on the Cross of Calvary. Salvation has nothing to do with anything which I have done. Being good, or doing good works, did not save me. Ephesians 3: 8-10 tells me, as I quote it in the first person, “God saved me by his special favor when I believed. And I can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things I have done, so I cannot boast about it; for I am God’s masterpiece. He has created me anew in Christ Jesus, so that I can do the good things He planned for me long ago”.

I am going to post this blog now but I will continue to reflect on my faith and my continued questions in future blogs. As I keep seeking, I keep growing in my faith. As I step out in my faith and in my obedience to God, I trust Him more completely and He becomes more powerful in my life.