Walking By Faith

The day-to-day walk in this life is sometimes smooth sailing and other times a rocky road (not my favorite flavor ice cream by the way “rocky” road.). It takes walking by faith each day to make it. Some days though I feel like a Jew wandering the desert as the children of Israel did in the Tanakh, or as Christians call it, the Old Testament. They believed in God, they ate, they lived, and they kept walking. They were walking by faith. Then they got to another major setback or breaking point, they lost faith, and stopped walking, yet again.

Everything – possession of the land, victory over enemies, prosperity, enjoyment of life – depended on their obedience to God’s Word.* Moses reviews their journey with them by going over their travels and reminding them of all the good that happened during their wanderings. We all know the story of how God sent down manna from heaven. Moses reminded them of this and told them they should never forget that it was God who gave them all their provisions and met all of their needs. But they still didn’t trust that God was in control and wouldn’t let them fall.

Isn’t that how it is with us? We forget much of the blessings when we’re going through the trials? Moses drove home the message that the Israelites should never forget it was God who supplied all their needs and provided their abundance.* It was very important to remember THIS in order to help them continue on the journey. We too need to remember the blessings and goodness we’ve tasted and focus on those things to the best of our ability in order to move forward in our walk with God and in life.

Just think positive

Sure it is easier if there is a support system in place to help lift you up and remind you of the things you’ve been blessed with before, but many are not afforded that luxury. And before you go telling others to just think positive and focus on those “things” they want in and for their life, remember, this is not Dianetics. You cannot focus it into being and it is certainly not all positive thinking.

Focusing on God’s promises and absorbing His Word so that they permeate your being is what carries you through to the other side. Yes, we can use positive things of the past to help us march forward, as long as they are provisions from God and not the power of your mind and thinking. A friend of mine said to me, “Attitude doesn’t bring about success, since God is sovereign.” She continued, “We could go further and say it’s not even our attitude that brings about anything since God equips us to do all good things.”

It reminds me of John 15:7: “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.” God wants us to have abundance. He is the one who equips us. Unfortunately, we are the ones who sabotage our prosperity by seeking other means to gain success.

The support system that used to get people through hard times like the depression era is lacking in our current fast paced lifestyles. In the striving for a better life, one thing that seems to suffer most (not always, not forever, but most often) is the relationships of those we love.

This is one of the major things burdening the hearts of Americans today. Yes there are some still blessed with a solid support system, but for those who do not have one, life can get blue. It’s easy for everyone to tell you to change your frame of mind and be positive, but unless you have others around you to nurture that and help get you back on track every time you get blue, it’s very difficult!

When you’re walking by faith, life can be sweet. The answer is in being a support system to others and focusing on the triumphs in your life. Do you remember a time when even though you prayed for one thing, something even better happened? That’s God. That’s walking by faith.

Copyright ©2007 Susie Glennan
All Rights Reserved.

*Reference: Walk Thru the Old Testament ©1972, 1983, 1994 by Dr. Bruce Wilkinson, Walk Thru the Bible Ministries, Inc. (WTB), Atlanta, GA.

⁶Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. ⁷For we live by faith, not by sight. ⁸ We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
2 Corinthians 5:6-8 (NIV)