Faith in Action

As I said in my last post, I have been going through the Armor of God study by Priscilla Shirer. We have been going through Ephesians 6:10-19; talking about the Armor of God (That all of us who are followers of Jesus have access to). Last week we talked about the Shoes of Peace! Oh my goodness I learned so much and really feel like I have some practical tools to combat the enemy’s lies that have been thrown at me. So thankful for that!

This week’s topic was on the Shield of Faith…and Priscilla broke down what faith really means. She said some really good things like:

“We will never see the benefits of our faith and our relationship with God unless we are willing to marry our faith with our actions.” 

“Faith says less about you and MORE about what you really believe to be true about God.”

Then my favorite part: 

“The faith place is stepping into a situation or circumstance where you put yourself into a position for God to have to come through.”

These past few months I have had the opportunity to move into this Faith Place that she talked about. There are some things happening in the women’s ministry at my church that I have been invited into.  It makes no sense at all that I would be asked to do what I have been asked to do. I honestly feel like I am the wrong person for the job…..but what I learned this past week on Faith has propelled me to keep moving forward. Faith is when the dots don’t connect, but you do it anyway….and the question that comes into play is, am I going to be crippled by fear or step out in faith?? The really cool thing about Jesus is, He allows you/me to hear his message, but then He leads us into deep waters in order to put what you just learned into action. That is faith!!

If we (if I) really believe God is trustworthy—then we need to act like it….so here I am putting faith into action in a very real, and physical way. The other thing with faith is that, it’s not absent of fear or emotions…..these fear feelings, inadequacy, insecurity still come when you are moving out in faith—BUT it’s what you DO with the fear/emotions that matters. I just loved this and it hit home hard: 

“Faith is the process of adapting your behavior, your decisions, and ultimately your whole lifestyle so that it accords with what God has asked you to do.Choose to act in accordance with truth despite the fact that you can’t see what the outcome will be. The act of faith is what becomes a shield of protection to guard against the enemy’s attacks.” 

Tony Evans says, “Faith is acting like it is so, even when it is not so, so that it might be so, simply because God said so.” 

I was thinking of an example in the Bible that exemplified this faith in action & was quickly reminded of Abraham. This man was such an inspiration and example of faith in action. His prompt obedience that was grounded in faith characterized him throughout his entire life. What a legacy! 
We see this in:

Genesis 12:1-4 it says “He went as the Lord had told him.”

Gen 17:23 “…as God told him”

Gen 22:3 “He set out for the place God had told him about.” 

Then in Hebrews 11:8-10 the “Faith chapter” he is recognized for his faith and it says — He obeyed and went even though he did not know where he was going. 

Prompt obedience. He obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going……that is how I am feeling….I feel this leading from the Holy Spirit, but when I look beyond today or even a few weeks—I have no clue where I am going. God is giving me a very real way to put my faith into action & it scares the crow out of me! So here is to my act of faith by taking one step at a time and walking through the doors as the Lord sees fit to open them. Open hands & open heart. 

So how about you? Will you do what you feel called to do even though it doesn’t make sense to you? Let’s not rationalize ourselves out of obedience, and walk boldly with the Shield of Faith! xo