Wild Faith

Sometimes waiting can feel like or appear like we're doing nothing, but in actuality, waiting is a highly intentional action. Have you ever seen someone running after a bus? Well, that person was not found waiting at the bus stop. When I'm waiting to pay for my groceries, I need to pay attention to what's happening in front of me and take steps accordingly lest I want to lose my spot in line. Waiting takes attention and alertness. It includes both stillness and motion. To wait is to take the appropriate deliberate action at the appointed time. What would it look like to be found faithfully waiting on God?

Hope. It's something most of us would probably say we could use a little more of. But what is it really? Romans 15:13 says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Two things immediately catch my attention here: 1) God is the God of hope— he is the source of hope and the one who gives hope 2) We can overflow and abound in hope not through our own making, but by the power of the Holy Spirit. If I were tasked with describing hope to someone who had never heard or experienced it before, I think I would start by telling them what hope feels like, what it looks like, what it sounds and smells like, and what it tastes like. Here's what I would say...

When someone says, “trust me” we can only truly give them our trust if we have history or an experience with them that would indicate they are a person of their word and are not out to get us. To trust is to have reliance on and confidence in a person. Trust is a major theme in the Bible. Often times, when the NIV uses the word “faith”, the CJB translates that word as “trust”. Faith and trust are very much similar, but also kind of different. Faith can seem a bit elusive, while trust is a pretty concrete, actionable choice. Trust can be used as a verb, whereas “faithing” doesn't seem to be a word. Trust says: “I don't know how and I don't know when, but because YOU said it God, I believe it will all happen just as you've promised.” Trust takes mental toughness— it means we don't give up and hang our heads, but rather we look forward and fix our eyes on the God for whom nothing is impossible.

What's the point of persevering and finishing well? Why should we do it? Well… What if a toddler gave up on walking because he or she kept falling over? What we can do today with our eyes closed was at one point difficult. None of us came out of the womb already walking and talking. We had to fail and fall many times before we started succeeding. Perseverance is what enables a baby to mature and grow up. We were made for failure because it is through what we do after we fail that our true strength is revealed and reinforced. We don't grow without struggle. Muscles get stronger only when the existing fibres are first torn so that they can grow back together tougher, bigger, and more resilient than ever before.

How do we become the best and fullest version of ourselves? When some of us unbox Christmas presents tomorrow, one of the things we might find inside is a user guide or manual that tells us what the product is for and how to make the most out of it. If we want to live out our God-given potential, we need to first look at our design and the intended purpose for which we were created. Genesis 1:27 tells us that God created humankind in his own image. You and I were created in the image of God. Therefore, we feel most alive and most truly ourselves when we become more and more like the One who created us. Becoming the best version of ourselves has everything to do with becoming more and more like Jesus.

Becoming more dependent on God is not a weakness, it is actually a superpower. Growing in reliance on Him is not a sign of deficiency or inadequacy, it is a sign of faith. It is this dependency that causes seas to part, walls to fall, chains to break, eyes to see, the dead to be raised, and all things to be made possible. It is this reliance that produces true well-being, fullness of life, abundant joy, and hope unshakeable. When we find ourselves at the point of being past hope, true north is choosing to come back to God's love and receiving it once again by faith. Walking in the direction of God's love will always lead us back to hope.

At the heart of the Gospel message— that is, the Good News of Jesus— is the announcement that we, created human beings, can have a direct and personal relationship with the God who created all things. God delights in his children and he loves spending quality time with us, where we pour out our heart to him and he pours his heart into us. Being a friend of God and being a friend to God changes our lives in the best way possible.

With God, the best is always yet to come and He is always crafting another beautiful chapter in the story of our lives. A life of purpose is the sum of seeking God moment by moment, day after day, night after night. If we can identify Him in the small things, we won't miss the big things He has prepared for us. When we seek to see His purposes above all else, small things and big things no longer hold value the way they once did. When we see God's hand at work we can rejoice in small beginnings. The only way to live a life of purpose is to find purpose in the every day. Every day matters. Today matters, because each day belongs to the Lord, and He is worthy of it all.

Welcome to the Wild Faith Podcast! I'm Brittany... and ordinary person seeking to following an extraordinary God. I've recently found myself in a season of wilderness-- you know, those times in between receiving a promise from God and seeing that promise come to fruition. I'm on a mission to discover the kind of faith it takes to survive the wilderness and succeed in the Promised Land. I hope you'll join me as we uncover the incredible promises God has for each of us and, together, see every promise He's spoken come to pass because we simply dared to believe him.

My story is still being written and yours is too. God's story-writing abilities are far better than ours, and He writes no bad stories. My ultimate hope is that in sharing a bit of the story God is writing in my life, that you will be reminded that he too is writing your story, and oh what a story it will be!

For the one in the wilderness, waiting for God to show up, eagerly anticipating the Promised Land to come into view.