Finding Faith

 Faith is not about assent to doctrine.  Faith is turning your life over to God's direction, trusting that His way is better than yours.  

"Come," said God to Abraham, "I will show you a land you could not reach on your own."

Some bad things happened along the way:  Many are the troubles of the just man, but out of all of them, God delivers him.....and no one that trusts in Him shall be desolate (Psalm 34).  Abraham learned faith as God was with him to deliver him out of situations he could not control on his own.

Faith is like a good marriage -- being yoked to Someone who has your back in all circumstances.  Jesus did not promise that life would be without trouble, but He did promise that He would be with us in all circumstances.

When I was younger, I used to wonder how people "got" faith.  I think I had more faith in myself than I did in God at the time.  Looking back now, I think that faith comes simply by trying it out --- taking the first step on the journey, no matter how small.   And watching what happens next.  I think God wants us to try Him on for size, so to speak.  No relationship can grow unless we are willing to try it out.

I remember once when I wanted to go to a conference in Steubenville, but lacked the money I needed.  As I prayed about it, I seemed to hear a direction from the Holy Spirit:  Put one dollar in the panty, and watch me multiply it.  Okay, now this was something I could not do on my own -- find money for the conference and the trip to Steubenville.  I put a dollar in the pantry and laughed every time I opened the door.  I knew then why I had to put it in the pantry.  Several times a day I was reminded that God was in control and that if that dollar was multiplied, it had to be His action, not mine.  

Within a couple of weeks, we received an unexpected refund from the electric company -- the price of a plane ticket plus the cost of the conference, with 10 dollars left over.  I laughed about the extra 10 --- until I arrived in Ohio and discovered that the cost of a taxi to the campus was 10 dollars!

One reason I had wanted to attend this conference was that my prayer partner was planning to go.  We had the opportunity to request to room together on campus, but after I realized that God was directing my trip, I decided to leave the choice to Him as to my roommate.  As it turned out, the conference planners had expected around 1000 participants, and at the last moment, 3000 people registered.  They had to scramble to find housing for 2000 extra people, so they placed cots in dining halls, recreation rooms, etc. ---- any place they could find.  When I arrived on campus and registered, I received my "room" assignment.  I was to be housed in one of the campus dining halls, where cots were laid out end to end.  Imagine my surprise when I found my cot ---right next to the one assigned to my prayer partner.  We had registered weeks apart for the conference, since I was waiting for God to provide the money well after she had sent in her fee.

That night, as I spend time in the adoration chapel, I felt an inner voice telling me that God had planned for us to be prayer partners from the beginning, and that I could take this arrangement as proof of His direction for my life.

Needless to say, the next time I seemed to receive direction from the Holy Spirit, I did not hesitate to try out the direction and see what happened.  And I have to say, that is how my faith grew little by little.