Can you help me answer
this question?
Intriguing question for you. Does God
give you spiritual meters so you can measure where your faith is at during
times of testing? Is it high in the world or high in the walk of faith?
Discussion: Can you help me answer this question?
Cindy, I really enjoyed your comment. True, we
haven't arrived, but I rejoice in the fact that the Lord is with me while I am
here on earth enduring the things that life hands me, whether it's hard or wonderful.
I rejoice, like Paul did, whether in plenty or lack. It doesn't matter because
God's always good, He's always near, and He always hears. While we are here, He
is definitely at work, as the word says, to will and do for His good pleasure,
and, His grace is enough, and His strength is perfect in my weaknesses. God
doesn't afflict us, or even punish us, but allows us to go through things. I
look at it like this...God is powerful enough and sovereign enough to instantly
deliver me from any difficulty or trial I face, sickness, addiction, desert,
turmoil, confusion, but He is loving and gracious enough to allow me to go
through them while He works on me and refines me to perfection. Paul said, that
with an unveiled face, we behold in the mirror the image of God, and we are
transformed from glory to glory into the same image, just as by the Spirit of
God (2 Cor. 3:18). That's working and moving towards perfection, getting
healed, clean, sober, growing in understanding, all by the trials and His
graciousness to get me through and endure them.
Posted by Nick B
Discussion:
Can you help me answer this question?
Nick I totally agree with you. The last 4 years I
have spent in the desert. The Lord told me in fact that I would be going thru
the hardest times of my life, but that HE would always be right there with me
and when I could not bear it, He would carry me. And he has been, and he has
carried me-because there have been times when I could bear the pain or the
trial one more second without some relief-but He has NEVER let me down, never
let me go. He says He holds me with His strong right arm. He covers me with His
feathers. I know I have been pruned and been refined by the fire, but the
relationship that I have with Him now I cherish about all else and I would go
through it all again if I had to do it to keep the relationship. It is so worth
it. And yet, I know I have not arrived, I still have so much work to be done on
this wicked heart/s deceitful who can know it-He says as He searches it. And
even though I know that we can do nothing to earn any point with the Lord, I
want to be as clean, and sober, and knowing His word, and doing His work as I
can.
Posted by Cindy F
Discussion:
Can you help me answer this question?
John,
In a word, it's both. God does give us spiritual
gauges by which to measure our faith. Often, the gauges are the tests
themselves. It can be a trying time in our lives, a season of drought or even
plenty. It can be a difficult decision that tests our faithfulness to God and
His word, either the Bible or a personal word He spoke to us.
I like your example of "high in the world or
faith." The word gives us gauges for the choices we make just like God
does, either by the word or our conviction. The world can say it’s okay, but
our conviction and faith says something different.
Of course there's the voice of God in all of this,
but sometimes we don't get a word from the Lord, and He instead requires us to
work from the wisdom and knowledge He's given us! I hear people complain they
can't hear God when seeking an answer or to make a decision, and sometimes He
doesn't speak to us on it, but allows us to go off our Spiritual wisdom and
discernment. It's how we grow in the knowledge of God; we must know “what is
the right thing to do” even when we don't hear it from God Himself.
Posted by Nick B
Discussion:
Can you help me answer this question?
Yep sounds right
Posted by Cinthia P
Discussion:
Can you help me answer this question?
Oh, I've got a whole lot that I don't understand
too, but if I did I wouldn't need faith. Only God has all of the answers, but
"the just shall live by faith." (Romans 1:17)
Posted by Barbara P
Discussion:
Can you help me answer this question?
Agree...I can honestly say however that there have
been trials and difficulties in my life that I still don’t understand God's
purpose in or for. I may not know until I see Him face to face and then it won’t
matter
...so, I just focus on his faithfulness and leave it
to His keeping.
Posted by Cinthia P
Discussion:
Can you help me answer this question?
I think it's important to remember Hebrews 11:1,
"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things
not seen."
A time of testing is about exercising our faith, not
measuring it. When we start looking at ourselves to see how we're doing it's
kind of like Peter walking on the water and then taking his eyes off of Jesus
and starting to sink.
However, our faith in action during times of testing
can shout loudly to those watching us as a testimony to the greatness and
sufficiency of God. And, after a trial is over we may look back and be able to
see the evidence that faith wrought in our life--we can see how God came
through for us in retrospect sometimes much easier than we're going through
something--we can see the fruit.
Posted by Barbara P
Discussion:
Can you help me answer this question?
I don't believe that God gives me "spiritual
meters" to measure my faith. That sounds too much like a "performance
orientation" or a charm bracelet approach to my walk with the Lord to me.
The proof of my faith will be the level of intimacy that I have with Christ and
the amount of surrender that I offer up to Him. IF Christ is my standard and
that I must evaluate my walk using His life as my measuring stick- besides it’s
hard to measure progress in the Desert of transition where there are no
landmarks amid the forever changing and shifting sands.
Faith is founded upon relationship with God. We
become overcomers when we can rest in His sovereignty and such rest becomes
easier when we know His character. Therefore faith is developed through
intimacy with our creator. The disciple of the Lord cannot submit to the will
of God nor stand upon the truth of His Word if she does not know the content of
His character along with the contents of His Word. Faith that overcomes
believes God because it knows God. It communes with God and walks following His
voice. Victorious faith knows God to be wholly God and recognizes that nothing
could be more trustworthy than His character (Hebrews 6:16-18).
I guess for me it is rather like a river flowing
within its riverbed. IT does not contemplate whether it has successfully
followed its ordained path. IT does not contemplate whether it is a
"successful river". It just flows... When it reaches an obstacle it
collects the energy needed to either flow directly over it or to make a way
around it. That energy comes from the river's source. The minute I begin to
focus on whether or not my faith is strong enough then I have shifted my focus
off the Lord and his ample supply... I am measuring my capability rather than
trusting his limitless resources... make sense?
Posted by Cinthia P
Discussion:
Can you help me answer this question?
How we deal with the tests He gives us IS the measure
of our Faith. Not sure I understand the second part of the question--could you rephrase
it for me? In agape, Terri
Posted by Charlene Mertz
Discussion:
Can you help me answer this question?
A meter would help the flesh know how well it is
doing. I am not saying we should or do not ever know if we are pleasing Him.
The best meter I was told to use is: if you done everything you can (prayer,
preparation, execution, give glory to God), then you should be satisfied
because you did your best. Leave the results up to God. But at least you have
no excuse.
Posted by Robert W
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