To have faith in God means to trust in His ability to sustain and uphold us but what about in times of devastation? It’s hard to believe in a God that’s good, wonderful, and loving when your world comes crashing down. Sudden death, divorce, illness, and even a natural disaster can send even the most faithful curdling backward. It doesn’t help that we are living in the middle of a worldwide pandemic, on top of an unemployment crisis as well as experiencing a new high of racial tensions, but here we are. So how do we as believers keep our faith intact in a world that is seemingly crumbling?
Start With Yourself. Difficult times in life are inevitable and will meet the hands of every single person with breath in their lungs. A successful faith journey starts by examining ourselves and the corners of our hearts where the trouble lies. Ask yourself a few questions to get you going: Where am I experiencing resentment? Worry? Anxiety or trouble? “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21. Whatever is on your mind becomes your focus. You can’t possibly have the adequate amount of room to revel in all God if your mind is too busy focusing on things out of your control. It’s important that you learn to take captive of the thoughts that you allow to run rampant in your mind and properly compartmentalize them. (More on this later) But for now, find out why and where you’re lacking faith and bring it into the light.
Feast of God’s Word. I don’t want you to just read it, I want you to approach it like you’re attending a feast. Feasts are known to be elaborate meals with a celebration or entertainment to follow. Take this approach when you dive into God’s word. Allow the scriptures to be your meal and worship/prayer to be your moment of celebration. Saturate your mind, body, and heart on Him. Meditate and truly soak in the moment. Don’t read the scriptures from the lens of trying to cure your issue, read them from the perspective of investigating who God is and allow your renewed understanding of Him to transform your heart. As cliche as this sounds scripture, along with prayer, is the best medicine for your soul. I say this as someone who struggled with turning to God for 2 years after one of the most difficult seasons of my life. You read that right! For TWO whole years, I rarely attended church, hardly read my bible and don’t even ask me how many times I prayed. I struggled to feast & celebrate... for. two. whole. years. It was lonely and it was scary, but now? I run to scripture as fast as I can. The more you get to know Him by sitting in His presence, the deeper the relationship becomes, and as a result, darkness is driven out. (John 8:12).
Renew Your Mind & Release Your Fears. There’s such a strong correlation to our thoughts and our realities. So much so that we are given warning after warning about the words we speak and the thoughts we think. Proverbs 23:7 tells us that we are what we think we are. If you choose to continuously speak defeat over your life, then you’ll forever manifest a state of loss. Renew your mind (Romans 12:2) and guard your heart (Proverbs 4:23). In doing so, you’re practicing the art of letting go. This is the best way that we can cast all of our worries over to God. When you renew your mind and release your fears, leave them at the feet of Jesus and don’t pick them back up. As a good friend once said in college during one of the hardest courses we’ve ever taken, “Why worry if you’re gonna pray?” And that’s the most important takeaway here. Once we say, “God, I’m giving this to you, it’s yours.” Leave it there and let Him do His portion of the group project. I know that’s easier said than done but learn to let go of the thing that you’ve giving over to Him. Has your day ever changed for the better by worrying? Didn’t think so.
Apply What You Know. This is where you do your part of the group project. Don’t just go through the motions, apply it, and get practical. Now is the time to continuously read your bible, study the scriptures, talk to God in prayer, and get active in a community of believers. Start small by doing one actionable thing today. Is there a command that you need to follow that His word teaches? Is there a sin that needs to be extinguished? Is there anyone you need to forgive? An issue that you need to address? What can you do today that will help release the tension in your mind and heart? If it’s monetary, is there someone you can lean on for help? I love the book of Acts because it displays the early church as people who were eager to sell their possessions and even get jailed just to help out one another. We are in this together, and faith without works is dead. What can you reconcile today, if anything?
Listen. This is the most underrated part of faith, listening. How will you ever hear God if you’re too busy trying to get to the next thing? Listening looks and feels like the surrender that I mentioned earlier. You have to learn to let go and let God. But Audresha, how will I know when He’s given me an answer? Read the scriptures. Girl, what? Yes, read the scriptures. The bible is nothing but a book composed of stories that tell us of God’s will for us and consistently reveals His character. We see his design of the earth, intent for human life and even the theme of reconciling us back to Him. When I get ready to listen, I ask the Holy Spirit for a few things: to correct me where I’m wrong, allow me to learn something new about God, expose me of a sin or show me a command to follow. Not all of these things occur in one quiet moment before God, but it positions my mind be to ready for correction. As far as listening for answers pertaining to the item I am bringing before God, I start to mediate. Recapping throughout my day what I’ve read & even scriptures and stories about the bible. Side note: If you don’t already memorize scripture, I suggest you do. This comes in handy at times like this.