Let me start by saying that life does not stop because you’re unsure of your next step, but your faith does diminish by sitting still.
God does not stop working while you’re wondering what to do.
At the top of this year (pre-pandemic), I was going through some emotional changes and doing some emotional labor for myself. I completely stopped talking to someone I thought was one of my best friends. I cut off all possible ties to an ex that I thought I would end up with for the past 10 years (more on that in a future post). And I started a more consistent walk with God by journaling and doing a daily devotional.
And it wasn’t pretty.
It is not what you would imagine with clear signs from God and an immediately changed heart.
It is not hearing God’s voice every second of the day and being ‘a good witness’ every chance you get.
It’s not even seeing yourself differently overnight – having a little more self-confidence when you wake up in the morning.
Before I digress, let me get to the topic of today’s post: a practical step to building your faith in God. I’m currently reading the book of James in the Bible (and by currently, I mean I literally started yesterday) and I was surprised at the amount of practical information in this book. From how to deal with lack of faith to seeking wisdom to how to express yourself to different groups of people. And since I’m a person that likes clear instructions, when I was doing my devotional this morning, I came up with my own questions to ask myself to build my faith in God.
Simply put, I figured out what works to pair with my faith.
Also, I lied. It’s two steps, not one.
Step 1: What am I struggling to faith with in this season?
This could be anything from completing this year at work ‘successfully’ or something else like getting your driver’s licence. Whatever you are struggling to believe you will receive, write it down. Which leads me to…
Step 2: What deed can I do as a step towards achieving that?
Now this might not be a one step process. Actually, it might not be achievable on your own doing. Some things you literally have to leave to God (like finding my husband). But writing any possible, specific step down actually helps you realize that your goal might not be as far off as you imagine. For a few of mine, I wrote out the first 3 steps. For some, I wrote out the one step it requires. For others, I just wrote myself little tips to enhance what I’m already doing.
As I was writing, I actually felt slightly relieved to see on paper that what I want and lack faith for are actually not that hard to achieve. Looking back at them now, they’re actually not the biggest issues in the world, but they’re big to me and for where I’m at with life right now.
So once you start doing this and exercising your faith in God, what comes next? Your reward, right?
Your reward for starting towards your goals, might not be in the way you imagine. I repeat, your reward can also be in the form of disappointment. A reward could also cause you more struggles with your faith and new things to update your two-step process with. Now, since I just started this exercise this morning, I have no idea how to deal with that, but I promise you I will let you know when I do. The only thing I can say, which I got from the book of James, was to count your trials as an opportunity to become more mature in the spirit and to ask for wisdom when temptation comes your way.
Let me know in a comment if you’re planning on trying this out. You don’t have to tell me what you lack faith for, just let me know if you’ve identified anything in life.
Light and Love,
herlifenotyours.