Faith

Faith. All too often my faith seems to be based upon circumstance....if I had a good day and things went as planned....if I went for a run and my neck or back didn't hurt....if I teach a client and they understand Pilates and feel better....if my husband is not stressed or working late....if everything is going my way, I so easily trust God and believe in Him. But when life does not go as planned I find myself in doubt and unbelief more than I'd like to admit. Life is not perfect, but God is still good and faithful. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him..." Romans 8:28

Recently I've been reading Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest. Here are some of his thoughts on faith. I hope you enjoy.

The life of faith says, "Lord, You have said it, it appears to be irrational, but I'm going to step out boldly, trusting your Word." God brings us into particular circumstances to educate our faith, because the nature of faith is to make the object of our faith very real to us. Until we know Jesus, God is merely a concept, and we can't have faith in Him. But once we hear Jesus say, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:9) we immediately have something that is real, and our faith is limitless. Faith is the entire person in the right relationship with God through the power of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

God wants you to understand that it is a life of faith, not a life of emotional enjoyment of His blessings. The beginning of your life of faith was very narrow and intense, centered around a small amount of experience that had as much emotion as faith in it, and it was full of light and sweetness. Then God withdrew His conscious blessings to teach you to "walk by faith" (2 Corinthians 5:7). And you are worth much more to Him now than you were in your days of conscious delight with your thrilling testimony.
Faith by its very nature must be tested and tried. And the real trail of faith is not that we find it difficult to trust God, but that God's character must be proven as trustworthy in our own minds.