Robe of Faith

"The LORD said to Samuel,

'How long will you grieve over Saul,

since I have rejected him from being king over Israel?

Fill your horn with oil,

and go.

I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite,

for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.'"

1 Samuel 16:1 ESV

It was what I had always feared about hiring someone else to mow our lawn.  We were preparing to move across the country so we decided to give our lawn equipment to a neighbor boy who was starting up a mowing service.  Until we actually loaded up our truck and drove away, though, we needed to take care of cutting the grass, so we hired a professional company.  This is how the tragedy came about.  

When the team of men descended on our lawn to mow, edge, trim and blow off the sidewalks and driveways, a death occurred; the annihilation of my ivy, meticulously planted around our mailbox and that of our neighbor's.  Without thought or care, the killer wielding a weed-eater had devastated the planting, sending precious vines this way and that.  As I stood at the edge of the small bed which I had painstakingly weeded earlier that morning, I couldn't believe the carnage that lay before me.

It was hard for me to get that disappointment out of my mind.  Every time I passed by the mailbox, the loss hit me anew.  Throughout the day, it would pop back into my mind.  Then the anger would come.  Why were they so callous?  Wasn't it obvious these were plants, not weeds?  How could they be so ignorant?  Even after the company graciously offered to give us a credit on our account to make up for their infringement, I still couldn't get the violation out of my mind.

Can you relate?  This is how Samuel must have felt, although on a much larger scale.  The people asked for a king.  Against his better judgment but in compliance with God's command, he anointed Saul as king.  The young man grew on him and Samuel got behind this new ruler of the nation of God.  He would do anything to help him succeed.  After all, God's name was at stake.  Then, God took the kingdom out of Saul's hands as a result of the ruler's disobedience and rebellion.  What a disappointing end to the first king's reign.  Samuel was having a hard time getting over such a let down.

It is hard to move past what was lost, what could have been, a failure.  While it is difficult to move on after such a huge disappointment or fall, in times such as these, it helps to remember that God has a plan!

Fill Your Horn

He must get ready.  Even though he didn't know what was coming next, he could prepare in faith, believing God would soon supply a new king.  God said the new king would be a man after His own heart.  Therefore, this promised blessing was something to celebrate!  Despite the fact that Samuel didn't know how this whole drama would play out, he did know that God's plan could be trusted.  Therefore, he prepared for the journey ahead as if all the details were already laid out.  

I don't know what today may bring.  I haven't a clue as to how God will solve my problems, provide for my needs and work out my difficulties.  What I can be confident in, however, is that God is already there.  Every detail of my current situation has already been worked out by my all-knowing, time-defying, all-powerful Father.  All the necessities required for today's life have already been provided, although I may not yet hold them in my hand.  Every obstacle I will face today has already been negotiated in anticipation of my journey.  

Therefore, I can prepare for what is to come, even though I have no idea what that may be.  I can trust God enough to believe that there is something good coming down the pike, readying myself in response.

When my life lies in shambles around me, devastating me to the core, I still have the hope of what is to come, supplied by a living God who loves me beyond compare. (1 Timothy 4:10)  I am not like those who do not know the Lord as their beloved Father and don't have Someone to look out for them.  No!  I have a Father who has designed a beautiful plan for my life, who has designated a path for me to follow, who has prepared amazing things for me to accomplish.  (Jeremiah 29:11-13, Hebrews 12:1,Ephesians 2:10)  In response, I must live in a state of hopeful expectation, looking forward to what God is about to do.

When it seems nothing good is happening in my life, that I'm marking time in this journey called life, I can be assured that God is working out the details, placing all the pieces where they need to be, and preparing all involved for what is to come.  Therefore, I can get ready to move, being careful not to grow lackadaisical in my current state of perceived stagnation.  When the time is right, God will most likely call me forward at light speed, so I'd be wise to keep on my toes in anticipation of what is to come. (Psalm 77:14-19)

When I am reeling from the series of heartaches I have endured, it is easy for me to give up hope, wondering if God has forgotten about me.  Instead of throwing in the towel, however, now is the time for optimism.  My father of all compassion who is comforting me in my time of trouble will surely bring many opportunities for me to share this same comfort I have been receiving, but only if I'm looking for those openings. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4) I must be ready!

When difficulty comes, I can prepare for the good that is to come as part of God's superior plan.

Go!

We only knew one thing:  God was calling us to move across the country.  In the pattern of so many men and women of faith who have gone before us, we decided to move forward as if this move was already a done deal.  Even though my husband didn't have a job in our new hometown, we didn't possess a place to live, and we hadn't yet sold our current house, we proceeded as if all of these things had already happened, believing that God would come through in His timing.

We began contacting moving companies, sorting through our belongings, gathering boxes and packing material, boxing up some of our possessions, selling our furniture and organizing moving sales.  As we moved forward in faith, we saw God at work all around us, providing the anticipated job, supplying a buyer for our house, securing a home loan and guiding us to the new house.  All in all, we were able to see God work in mighty ways because we didn't sit around waiting for things to happen, but stepped out in faith, believing God would deliver.

When Abraham received his marching orders, he had two choices.  He could have waited until he had more details, like what their destination was going to be.  Or, he could start the journey in faith, believing that God would reveal the needed information at just the right time.  As you probably know, Abraham chose the latter.  (Genesis 12:4)

When Noah had been given the blueprint for the ark, he had two choices.  He could have waited until he had the assurance that a flood indeed was imminent.  Or, he could begin work on the vessel that would ultimately save mankind from God's righteous wrath.  As you probably know, Noah chose the latter.  (Genesis 6:22)

When Jesus called His disciples, they had two choices.  They could have waited until they knew more about this fellow Jesus, making sure He really was the Messiah.  Or, they could drop what they were doing and follow Him.  As you probably know, the disciples chose the latter. (Matthew 4:20,22)

My faith is not really faith unless I act on it like these men of faith did, moving forward despite their inability to perceive all the necessary details.  Knowing that God has a firm grasp of what is to come must be enough.  Once I trust Him fully, I will be able to walk ahead in faith despite my own ignorance.

When difficulty comes, I can step out in faith, believing that God has an amazing plan for each footstep I take.

Watch

I planted the seeds nearly two weeks earlier, but still there was nothing.  For the past couple of days, I had walked around the perimeter of the garden, looking for sprouts.  Not being able to see any evidence of new growth, I felt discouraged.  Then I decided to take a closer look.  

As I walked down the center of the garden, squatting down to improve my view, I suddenly began to see lots of tiny shoots.  Delighted with this new discovery, I told my family that flowers were busting out all over the place!  This was quite a departure from my earlier attitude of doom and gloom when I couldn't see the new growth.

This reminds me of my faith.  When I am so busy with the details of my life, intent on checking off my list of things to do and accomplishing all that I think needs to be done, I don't pay much attention to what God might be doing around me.  When I take a closer look, however, taking the time to focus on Him and watch for evidence of His hand, I suddenly see things in a different light.

In the place of only perceiving a day filled with trauma, I realize all the compassionate people God sent my way to minster to me in my time of need.  Instead of only seeing my unfinished tasks that I find to be so earth-shatteringly necessary, it dawns on me that all the interruptions were really God's way of moving me in a different direction than I had planned to go.  While I judged my day as being a waste, spending most of it waiting in line for one thing or another, it hits me that God put me in touch with people with whom I normally wouldn't interact, giving me an opportunity to share the reason for the hope I have. (1 Peter 3:15)

God has a plan I know nothing about. (Isaiah 55:8-9) When I take the time and effort that is necessary to watch for what He is doing all around me, He will reveal great and wondrous things.  My heart will then soar as I revel in the miraculous nature of my amazing Father.

When difficulty comes, I can watch for evidence of God's mighty hand all around me.

It can be hard to get past disappointments and let downs.  Instead of dwelling on what could have been, however, I can prepare for what I believe God will do, move forward in faith, trusting that God will deliver, and watch for how He is revealing His amazing plan as I go.  In these ways I will be able to break out of my mourning clothes and step into my robe of faith!

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can trust God enough to step ahead in anticipation of what He will do.

When do I wait to make sure God is calling me before I answer His plea?

How am I hesitating to obey His call on my life because I don't know all the necessary details?

Act First

"The angel of the LORD appeared to 

Manoah's wife and said, 

'Even though you have been unable to have children,

you will soon become pregnant 

and give birth to a son.

So be careful;

you must not drink wine

or any other alcoholic drink

nor eat any forbidden food.

You will become pregnant and give birth to a son,

and his hair must never be cut.

For he will be dedicated to God

as a Nazirite from birth.

He will begin to rescue Israel from the Philistines.'"

Judges 13:3-5 NLT

"I'll believe it when I see it."

This is the principle by which I often live.  Manoah's wife, however, was called to live by faith in much the same way I am called.  When she received the communication from God's messenger, there was no proof that what he said would come to pass.  In fact, when Manoah heard the news from his dearly beloved, he asked the Lord to send the angel again so that he could ask some questions; kind of a confirmation that what his wife had said was true.

When the angel did return, the astonished man thought he was perhaps a prophet or some other kind of man sent by God.  When the angel returned to heaven in the fire of the burnt offering that reached up toward the sky, Manoah and his wife each fell on their face, humbled and quite terrified by the fact that they'd come in contact with an angel of God.

As powerful as this experience was, it still took faith for this woman to change her lifestyle in compliance with the message in the hope that she would soon carry a child.  There was no evidence that what the angel had said was true; no quickening in her womb as a sign of what was to come, no physical verification that her time of infertility was about to end.  Instead, she had to obey God's instructions by faith, trusting that what He said would come about.

In the same way, I am called to live by faith not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7) In order to prove to God that I trust what He has told me, I will need to act, taking steps to obey without tangible evidence that what He has promised will come to pass.  I must proceed as if God is faithful to do what He said He would do, because He is.

Love

In the world in which I live, love is given with the expectation that I will receive love in return.  I love those who love me.  In God's kingdom where Jesus is king, however, love is what drives everything.  Love melts the hardest of hearts, binds together unlikely bedfellows and tears down the most well-crafted walls.  Love is the currency by which my salvation is bought, my place in God's family is secured and my sins are forgiven. (John 3:16, 1 John 3:1, Psalm 103:11-12)    Without it, no amount of good deeds or righteous work will matter. (1 Corinthians 13)

Therefore, since I am so well-loved, I am called to love. (1 John 4:19)  Sometimes it feels as if I have nothing left to give.  In such times, it takes faith to respond in love to the one who constantly treats me with disdain, or to give a friend another chance, or to turn the other cheek, opening myself up to even more abuse.  

When love is the last thing I feel, it is then that I draw from the deep well that God has poured in me.  When it seems that love is nowhere to be found it takes faith to open up the floodgates of my soul and let the compassion and kindness God has stored there spill out.  When my heart senses only pain and suffering, I must believe that God can use me as a doorway of His love.

Mother Teresa knew a little something about love.  She learned through her life's work of reaching out to the lowest of the low, the poorest of the poor, in the worst areas of India.  Those who were shunned and forgotten became the center of her attention.  There, in the slums of Calcutta, she found the source of this love that flowed through her.  She said, "I have found the paradox that if I love until it hurts, then there is no more hurt, but only more love."

God's love is not limited by my weaknesses, my inabilities or my shallow understanding of it's mysteries.  Instead, His love is a never-ending source, a bottomless well that supplies my days.  Since I cannot touch, see or often times feel this love, I must trust God at His word, believing that when I step forward in faith, His love will flow through me.  (Ephesians 3:16-19,Lamentations 3:22-23,Isaiah 58:11, Psalm 136)

It takes faith to commit to loving those who are not always easy to love, believing that God's love will never fail.

Sacrifice

It sounds like such a selfless act devoid of any pleasure.  To sacrifice means to give up something valuable in order to bring about a certain outcome, secure a particular purpose or reach a specific goal.  It involves giving up one thing in order help someone or do something else.

Parents often make sacrifices for their children, giving up certain activities that would take them away from their family, forgoing once-pleasurable pursuits to make way for more appropriate pastimes, or to do without certain luxuries to make room in the budget for the necessities of child-rearing.  As a parent, I am not unaware of sacrifice.

In my walk with God, however, I am reticent to give up much.  Instead, I often spend a lot of my time trying to preserve what I think is valuable.  To follow my Shepherd, though, it means I'll need to let go of many things that threaten to overshadow His guiding presence.  

Sometimes its my possessions that get in the way, keeping me from truly living with abandon.

If I'm to hold Him as most valuable, I must be willing to give up things that get in the way without the assurance of compensation.  

Other times it may be necessary to give up destructive friendships that fail to draw me closer to God.  Instead, these relationships tend to work as a distraction, tempting me to live as the world does or to question the very foundation of my faith.  If He's my number one relationship, I must be willing to let go of certain people without any guarantee of restoration.

Then there are times when I must release my desire to control, letting God choose for me instead of insisting on getting my own way.  If I want Him to be Lord of my life, I must be willing to let Him have His way without the security of knowing what the future holds.

In each of these instances, it takes faith to give up what I can see in order to receive the unknown God has saved up for me.  No matter how good it may be, I still must believe enough to take the step to release what I have in order to collect what He will give me.  It's kind of like letting go of the rope as I hang over the edge of a cliff so that I can grasp a hold of the hand of the rescue personnel reaching down to save me.  There is no guarantee that I won't fall to my death.  Instead, I must grab hold to my savior by faith, trusting that he will haul me up to safety.  

It takes faith to sacrifice what I have to grab hold of what I can't see, believing that God will supply more than I could ask or imagine.  (Ephesians 3:20)

Forward

The stinging in my eye was unbearable, causing tears to flow and inevitably, my nose to run.  As I attempted to accomplish the tasks on my list of things-to-do, I closed my eyes to slightly relieve the discomfort of the unseen foreign object in my left eye.  Maybe I scratched my eye, I thought.  I should have been more careful when cleaning out the garage.  I guess a fleck of dirt must have scraped across my eye.

As I attempted to negotiate the steps with my eyes closed, I realized how much slower I walked when I couldn't see where my next step would land.  I proceeded cautiously, afraid there was some hidden danger even though I knew the layout of the house like the back of my hand.  Still, without the benefit of my eyesight, I couldn't be sure.

This experience reminds me of what it's like to walk by faith.  It is hard to move forward into the darkness, not being sure of what lies ahead.  I tend to take baby-steps, shuffling forward timidly, insecure about where the Lord might be leading me.  Instead of trusting Him boldly, I'm afraid to move from the spot where I find myself rooted.

It takes faith to take God at His word and believe that He can use me in a way that is foreign.  If I'm unsure of how to teach a class of high school girls, I may hang back, waiting to see if someone else steps forward to accept the challenge.  Meanwhile, God keeps reminding me that He equips the called, not the other way around.

It takes faith to quit my job with no guarantees of a better prospect, believing that God will provide for what He is leading me to do.  If I'm afraid to live so recklessly I might hesitate, wondering how wise it is to live so irresponsibly.  Meanwhile, God keeps reminding me that He is my Father who knows my needs and will faithfully supply them.  

It takes faith to let go of my fear when facing a life-threatening illness, believing that God's sovereign plan will bring good out of the suffering.  If I listen to the doctor's prognosis, I might be tempted to mourn my circumstances and all the misery I might soon experience.  Meanwhile, God keeps reminding me that He created my body and is perfectly capable of healing what ails me.  

It takes faith to move forward into the darkness believing that God is right there by my side lighting a path for my feet.

Just as Samson's mother acted in faith when she prepared for the birth of a son she thought she'd never have, I can also take God at His word, believing Him enough to act before I have evidence of the outcome.  I can love without reciprocation, sacrifice with no guarantees, and move forward blindly.  In each instance, my faith is proved true when I leap before I can see the ground where I will land.  After all, faith without deeds is dead.  (James 2:26)

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can trust God enough to love those who don't love me.

When do I hold onto things as a kind of security blanket?

How is my faith proved counterfeit by my unwillingness to step forward into the darkness?