Live by Faith
by Taylor Bell
I have never had to work hard to find God in the good times. But in the difficult times it is easy for me to wonder where He is. I know He will never leave me, nor forsake me. I know that He works things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. I know I should trust in Him, and rest in His presence. When life is falling apart, how are we supposed to blindly do that?
“Where are you, God?” has been a thought that crosses my mind during difficult days or when I think of evil things that are going on in the world. Sometimes I even try to come up with reasons why these sufferings are happening. If you find yourself asking similar questions today due to everything going on in the world, I encourage you to meditate on some comforting scriptures— John 16:33, Jeremiah 29:11-13, Exodus 14:14, Matthew 11:28-29, Proverbs 3:5.
Many of us live much of our lives under the illusion that we are in control. But when our circumstances start turning in the wrong direction we are faced with the fact that we actually have very little control. This life is filled with circumstances that will leave us questioning or even denying God’s goodness if we live by what we see, rather than by faith in what God has promised. “For we live by faith, not by sight” 2 Corinthians 5:7. This choice is a daily one we have to make. We can choose to either trust what we see and find what is good for ourselves or we can live by faith in a crucified Savior and let Him define what is good for us, even if it means choosing to trust Him over what we can see and feel.
I think about the disciples when they were on the boat with Jesus when a dangerous storm erupted on the water. They were unprepared to face it and terrified, realizing they could die. The entire time this is happening, Jesus is sleeping peacefully. Instead of looking at Jesus’ reaction to what was happening, the disciples allowed their fear to dictate their reactions. After begging Jesus to do something, He calms the storm, and then asks them, “Where is your faith?” His gentle rebuke over their lack of faith wasn’t because they didn’t believe Jesus could save them from the storm, but because they were scared and struggled to believe He would see them through it.
God has power over every storm. If the wind and waves don’t concern Him, then they shouldn’t frighten us. We might not be able to change our situation, but we can choose to faithfully trust God in the middle of whatever we are going through. Fixing our eyes on Jesus leads us to peace. Are you looking at the size of the storm, or turning towards the One who can calm it? It is only by focusing on God that we can face any situation with His wisdom and peace. Jesus is always in our boat. It is easy to focus on our fears when we cannot control our future, but thankfully Jesus knows our future and is always by our side.
Whenever we find ourselves overwhelmed by life, we have two choices: we can dwell on our circumstances, or fix our eyes on Jesus. If we choose to look to Jesus above everything else, we will begin to see that the storms we are facing are not nearly as powerful as the Savior choosing to walk through the storm alongside us.
So let’s come to Christ with our worries and ask Him to give us the faith to take our eyes away from what we can see in front of us and lift our eyes again to the cross. That is where we will find assurance and confidence in the undeserving goodness and faithfulness of our heavenly Father. He has all wisdom. He has all power. He comes to us in our pain. We have Him on our side. He is perfect, which means everything He wants and desires for our lives is far greater than anything we could imagine.
Hope this gives you some encouragement and comfort to face whatever comes your way today!
With Love,
Taylor Bell
“Where are you, God?” has been a thought that crosses my mind during difficult days or when I think of evil things that are going on in the world. Sometimes I even try to come up with reasons why these sufferings are happening. If you find yourself asking similar questions today due to everything going on in the world, I encourage you to meditate on some comforting scriptures— John 16:33, Jeremiah 29:11-13, Exodus 14:14, Matthew 11:28-29, Proverbs 3:5.
Many of us live much of our lives under the illusion that we are in control. But when our circumstances start turning in the wrong direction we are faced with the fact that we actually have very little control. This life is filled with circumstances that will leave us questioning or even denying God’s goodness if we live by what we see, rather than by faith in what God has promised. “For we live by faith, not by sight” 2 Corinthians 5:7. This choice is a daily one we have to make. We can choose to either trust what we see and find what is good for ourselves or we can live by faith in a crucified Savior and let Him define what is good for us, even if it means choosing to trust Him over what we can see and feel.
I think about the disciples when they were on the boat with Jesus when a dangerous storm erupted on the water. They were unprepared to face it and terrified, realizing they could die. The entire time this is happening, Jesus is sleeping peacefully. Instead of looking at Jesus’ reaction to what was happening, the disciples allowed their fear to dictate their reactions. After begging Jesus to do something, He calms the storm, and then asks them, “Where is your faith?” His gentle rebuke over their lack of faith wasn’t because they didn’t believe Jesus could save them from the storm, but because they were scared and struggled to believe He would see them through it.
God has power over every storm. If the wind and waves don’t concern Him, then they shouldn’t frighten us. We might not be able to change our situation, but we can choose to faithfully trust God in the middle of whatever we are going through. Fixing our eyes on Jesus leads us to peace. Are you looking at the size of the storm, or turning towards the One who can calm it? It is only by focusing on God that we can face any situation with His wisdom and peace. Jesus is always in our boat. It is easy to focus on our fears when we cannot control our future, but thankfully Jesus knows our future and is always by our side.
Whenever we find ourselves overwhelmed by life, we have two choices: we can dwell on our circumstances, or fix our eyes on Jesus. If we choose to look to Jesus above everything else, we will begin to see that the storms we are facing are not nearly as powerful as the Savior choosing to walk through the storm alongside us.
So let’s come to Christ with our worries and ask Him to give us the faith to take our eyes away from what we can see in front of us and lift our eyes again to the cross. That is where we will find assurance and confidence in the undeserving goodness and faithfulness of our heavenly Father. He has all wisdom. He has all power. He comes to us in our pain. We have Him on our side. He is perfect, which means everything He wants and desires for our lives is far greater than anything we could imagine.
Hope this gives you some encouragement and comfort to face whatever comes your way today!
With Love,
Taylor Bell
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