"Faith Defined"

As I have been reading through the Old Testament recently, I have come to love the book of psalms. As I read them I find myself praying to God what I am reading and this morning I read over Psalm 143. While I was reading, verses 8 through 10 really struck my heart. A lot of times when I think about my “faith story” it is normally structured around circumstances in my life. There were times when I may have been struggling and my faith may have been something I used to get myself through it. Then there were times when life had been really good and I was really happy and I felt on top of the world. However, during these times my faith was placed on the back burner because I did not “need” it. But as I read these 3 verses, I realized that I didn’t want a faith that was built on circumstances. I didn’t want to have a faith that changed with life because that wasn’t really faith. When I look at David’s life, the author of this psalm, I see the opposite of that kind of faith. He went through many and many hardships but his faith wasn’t wavered. When he was going through his hardships he cried out to the Lord and trusted that God heard him and was with him. His faith wasn’t dependent on his life and He didn’t treat God as a genie, but as his heavenly Father.

Psalm 143:8-10 says this, “Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord, for I hide myself in you. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.” I read this a couple times because I felt that there was so much value in those 3 verses. After I read “let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love” my mind immediately went to something that should be a daily thing. To wake up in the morning and first thing, open my bible to spend time with God and then to pray and meditate on His word. When I do that that is when I can truly feel the unfailing love that God has for me. Then the following words: “for I have put my trust in you,” this was what really got me. After reading such encouraging words beforehand, I read that and felt convicted. If I had a faith that was dependent on my circumstances, was my trust in God or was it in the life I was living? So I decided that I was going to change the way I viewed my faith. It is not a cane that I use when life gets hard, but it is a relationship that I have with God the Father. The God that knows me to the very deepest parts of me and has a plan for my life that surpasses anything I could possibly plan up for myself. As I read “show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul,” I felt myself surrender to God. I know that God’s plans are bigger than my plans and even though life is hard and I may be going through a period of darkness, I know that God is with me. When I read that verse, in my mind I pictured myself in a maze (kind of like in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) where I can’t see where I am at, but then I look up to God. Even though I am still in the maze, I am able to feel God with me guiding me to His will and telling me where to go. Verse 9 reads, “rescue me from my enemies, O Lord, for I hide myself in you.” This verse was another one that comforted me and also reminded me of Psalm 46. God is my refuge and strength and when the world is against me, I can rest in God. I know that the Lord is for me and if he is for me, who can be against me (Romans 8:31)? I think that verse 10 was my favorite to read: “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.” This is something that I want to pray every single day. I want to position myself to have a relationship with Christ where I am able to recognize His voice and His will for my life. I believe that He is my God, and as long as I follow His Spirit, my life will be full of purpose and love.

In Romans 4:20 Paul talks about Abraham’s faith and says this: “Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was STRENGTHENED in his faith and gave glory to God.” I want to have a faith like Abraham and David’s. A faith that is defined not by my life circumstances, but by my relationship with God the Father. We pray that your faith is also defined by this, and that we do not allow life’s ever-changing circumstances deter us from the only thing that does not change- and that is God’s love for us.