The Life of Faith – Week 1, Part 3

Hebrews 11v8

“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going” Hebrews 11v8

Rooted in the past

So often we struggle with the past. Many remain rooted in regret and damaged emotions remind us of things we would often rather forget, but can’t. Damaged emotion is often a sign that we need to deal with things that are still negatively active within us, even though the situations that caused this may be long past.

Fight/Flight/Freeze/Fawn are common responses to our negative active past and distressed emotion. If you regularly struggle with any of these you might like to consider visiting a counsellor or leader for perspective and help. Faith and trusting the Lord brings us to a place of deeper surrender and rest.

Faith is rooted in hope

Faith is always looking with expectancy to the future, not with dread, which is the sibling of fear. Faith is rooted in the hope of the Lord.

Are there things that can go wrong today or tomorrow? You bet! However, faith is not bound to a fear of consequences or missteps. Faith is bound to the goodness and faithfulness of God.

Reflect: How do you see the future? Are you looking forward to it with expectation or with dread? This kind of honesty is hard and will help you evaluate whether you have a foundation of faith or fear. Once you have assessed this, it’s time to turn to God’s Word to replace any false foundations. Trusting involves letting go of self-control. You will never know whether God is truly trustworthy unless you try. Scripture reminds us to always REMEMBER the faithfulness of God,

“I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old.” Psalm 77v11

In time we are able to also look back at the faithfulness of the Lord in our own lives and remember this too…

Visible horizons

Abraham walked beyond his visible horizons in faith. It was remarkable obedience for a man who had been called by God from a pagan background. Faith will help us to walk and navigate through unknown pathways of life where we have never been before. Change is here to stay. I wonder today are we ready to trust the Lord to walk beyond the visible horizons (known path) of our life into the uncharted territory (unknown path) of our tomorrows?

Reflect: What aspects of your life can you say today “I have no idea where or how this will end up?” Take a few moments to allow God to speak his courage into your heart for your tomorrows. What has God spoken into your heart for the future? Remember too how He has promised to never leave or forsake you.

“So if you, despite being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” Matthew 7v11

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” Matthew 6:34

Walking beyond ‘visible horizons’ means trusting God for our tomorrows, even though ‘we have never been there before’. It’s about taking each day at a time and leaving tomorrow in God’s hands. It’s a journey of truth and obedience

v9a “by faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country….”

Have a great day