Am I Just Sitting on My Faith?
Each year in December I come up with a list of goals for the coming year: lose weight. Exercise more. Finish the book I've been writing (off more than on) the last umpteen years. Read the bible through in a year. This past December was no different, the goals are all still there. Except for one. This year my goal isn't to read the bible through in a year. In the many (dmany!) years I've set that one up, I've failed every single time. So no. Not going to be a goal this year.
Did I give up on that? No. This year, however, I have a new insight. This year, I'm focusing on studying the New Testament. I began on January 2 (the first I was finishing up a study from December) and while I thought at first I would be going at a faster rate, I'm currently in the middle of Matthew chapter 15. But you know what? I'm okay with that. I don't want to zoom through the Word just to say I've done it and can move on. I want to take my time and chew on small bites. My main goal is to be in the word every day. To be honest, some days I don't get as much time to do that. Most of the time it's my fault for not prioritizing it, but my average is about five or six days a week of personal study. I have noticed that my days tend to go a little better when I take the time to read and pray and contemplate.
This morning began at 5:15 AM. My alarm went off and I was hoping to snuggle back into bed and let my sweet hubby get ready for work on his own. But small space living has its quirks and something woke me up completely. I admit, I'm not the sweetest person to be around when things don't go smoothly in the mornings. (Shocking, right? I know. ) But I stayed awake to deal with the problem and grouched a bit while starting breakfast for my husband. Despite being crabby though, staying awake gave me a few minutes of conversation with my husband, which I miss having.
It also reminded me that a more important conversation was lacking-- one with our Heavenly Father. I read and take notes most days, and send up "flare prayers" but I struggle with prayer. Today's reading was Matthew 15: 21-28. Jesus was in the area of Tyre and Sidon, where he encountered a Canaanite woman. She had a daughter who was severely oppressed by a demon and she knew that Jesus was the one who could help her.
She asked for help and Jesus said not a word to her. She did not give up however. She continued after him. The disciples thought she was a pest and wanted Jesus to send her away. He told her he was there only for the lost sheep of Israel. She continued asking, "please help." He told her "It is not right to take the children's bread and cast it to the dogs." Her answer? "Yes, but even the dogs get the crumbs that fall from the Master's table."
Then Jesus answered her, "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire. And her daughter was healed instantly. Matthew 15: 28 ESV
Jesus is known for his compassion, and love for people. He healed people all the time, so it was a bit jarring at first glance to see him rebuff this woman. But he was not being mean. I can't rightly say why he handled the situation the way he did. Maybe it was a test for her, I don't know. The lesson I got from it was her faith. "Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master's table." She knew what Jesus was capable of. She trusted fully that he could heal her daughter. It didn't have to be a grand or spectacular thing. She had faith that he could heal and had faith that even though she was not a Jew, he would listen to her.
This woman could have said, oh, I"m not a Jew so Jesus won't help us. She could have halfheartedly asked him once or twice and given up. She didn't. Her faith in Jesus and his ability to heal was so strong she would take even the smallest crumb of help from him.
Lesson #2 from the Canaanite woman: Faith without works is dead. James 2: 14-26 tells us this. The Canaanite woman had great faith, yes. But. She had to act on that faith! She didn't just sit at home thinking, The Lord will heal my child. She sought out Jesus. Once she found out he was in town, she went to him to plead her case.
While their isn't a lot I can do in my present situation, I wonder if I'm just sitting on my faith and expecting God to plop the answer in my lap. I've petitioned God about it. I've asked others to pray for this situation. I KNOW the answer is out there. I do hit the panic button now and then, but I do KNOW the answer is near and I KNOW that God's timing is not my own. Yet I realize that there is some action, some act of obedience I need to do before the answer comes.
Did I give up on that? No. This year, however, I have a new insight. This year, I'm focusing on studying the New Testament. I began on January 2 (the first I was finishing up a study from December) and while I thought at first I would be going at a faster rate, I'm currently in the middle of Matthew chapter 15. But you know what? I'm okay with that. I don't want to zoom through the Word just to say I've done it and can move on. I want to take my time and chew on small bites. My main goal is to be in the word every day. To be honest, some days I don't get as much time to do that. Most of the time it's my fault for not prioritizing it, but my average is about five or six days a week of personal study. I have noticed that my days tend to go a little better when I take the time to read and pray and contemplate.
This morning began at 5:15 AM. My alarm went off and I was hoping to snuggle back into bed and let my sweet hubby get ready for work on his own. But small space living has its quirks and something woke me up completely. I admit, I'm not the sweetest person to be around when things don't go smoothly in the mornings. (Shocking, right? I know. ) But I stayed awake to deal with the problem and grouched a bit while starting breakfast for my husband. Despite being crabby though, staying awake gave me a few minutes of conversation with my husband, which I miss having.
It also reminded me that a more important conversation was lacking-- one with our Heavenly Father. I read and take notes most days, and send up "flare prayers" but I struggle with prayer. Today's reading was Matthew 15: 21-28. Jesus was in the area of Tyre and Sidon, where he encountered a Canaanite woman. She had a daughter who was severely oppressed by a demon and she knew that Jesus was the one who could help her.
She asked for help and Jesus said not a word to her. She did not give up however. She continued after him. The disciples thought she was a pest and wanted Jesus to send her away. He told her he was there only for the lost sheep of Israel. She continued asking, "please help." He told her "It is not right to take the children's bread and cast it to the dogs." Her answer? "Yes, but even the dogs get the crumbs that fall from the Master's table."
Then Jesus answered her, "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire. And her daughter was healed instantly. Matthew 15: 28 ESV
Jesus is known for his compassion, and love for people. He healed people all the time, so it was a bit jarring at first glance to see him rebuff this woman. But he was not being mean. I can't rightly say why he handled the situation the way he did. Maybe it was a test for her, I don't know. The lesson I got from it was her faith. "Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master's table." She knew what Jesus was capable of. She trusted fully that he could heal her daughter. It didn't have to be a grand or spectacular thing. She had faith that he could heal and had faith that even though she was not a Jew, he would listen to her.
This woman could have said, oh, I"m not a Jew so Jesus won't help us. She could have halfheartedly asked him once or twice and given up. She didn't. Her faith in Jesus and his ability to heal was so strong she would take even the smallest crumb of help from him.
Lesson #2 from the Canaanite woman: Faith without works is dead. James 2: 14-26 tells us this. The Canaanite woman had great faith, yes. But. She had to act on that faith! She didn't just sit at home thinking, The Lord will heal my child. She sought out Jesus. Once she found out he was in town, she went to him to plead her case.
While their isn't a lot I can do in my present situation, I wonder if I'm just sitting on my faith and expecting God to plop the answer in my lap. I've petitioned God about it. I've asked others to pray for this situation. I KNOW the answer is out there. I do hit the panic button now and then, but I do KNOW the answer is near and I KNOW that God's timing is not my own. Yet I realize that there is some action, some act of obedience I need to do before the answer comes.
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