The "How" Factor

It seems like whenever God is prompting growth in His followers, He puts their faith to the test. When it comes to my faith, I often start out with a full tank. Then unfortunately, as the scenery of life changes, the level of faith and the way I show it may fluctuate. I go from being all excited about showing God how I feel to growing weary and saying things like, “Lord, I’ve been faithful. I’ve prayed, sought You and tried my hardest to do things the way You said I should do them.” But things got real one day when I was in one of those moods and He asked me, “How did you display your faithfulness to me?”

In asking me that question, God was showing me that its cool to do all those things to get His attention, but special emphasis should be placed on “how.” The way you conduct yourself in periods of quietness tells God what you think about His ability to come through for you. How you do things is, essentially, the package you deliver your faith in. I Peter 4:19 says:

“Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.”

I also like the way The Message puts this verse:

“So if you find life difficult because you're doing what God said, take it in stride. Trust him. He knows what he's doing, and he'll keep on doing it.”

Place your trust in the custody of God, who is loyal, dependable and consistent regarding His promises. He does more than enough in coming through for us and the only requirement of us is to make sure that our faith, what we know to be true, is reflected in the way we live our lives. God loves it when we are pressed about doing things His way because it lets Him know where we stand and it makes Him want to do more.

A lack of answers or understanding in any situation tends to precipitate a slowdown in a believer’s walk with God. My challenge to you (and myselfJ) is to take a different view of the gridlocks, catch-22s and seemingly impossible situations in life…a view that stands firmly on God’s impeccable track record and drives the way you do things.