Wet Feet Faith

With a bazillion books having been written to answer the question "What is faith?" Can there actually be anything new to say? Doubtful, right? However it's amazing to me how the Word of God is relevant to every generation. I marvel at how God's Word speaks to me anew, over and over again. So, is there anything new to say about faith! Absolutely there is. I mean, check this out. If you read Joshua chapter 3 where the Israelites were about to cross the Jordan river, you'll find this amazing act of faith of the people, which brought forth a powerful move of God.

The day before their prospective crossing, Joshua tells the people to "consecrate themselves for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders." Then he turns and tells the priests "you go on ahead of the people." God told Joshua that day that He was going to begin an amazing work in Joshua, to exalt him before the people and they would know that God was with Joshua as God was with Moses when he lead the people.

Ok, hang on . . . because here comes the powerful thing. God told Joshua to have the priests carry the ark of the covenant, and stand in the waters of the Jordan, and watch the miracle working power of God!

Now, you have to realize that the Israelites were desert dwellers, they weren't used to waters of any size. They certainly weren't skilled in how to cross raging, swelling rivers! They were however, used to the stories that had been passed down to them, of a time when their forefamilies crossed the Red Sea. In that story God told Moses to touch the sea with his rod, at which time the sea parted and people walked across on dry land! Moses didn't even have to get his feet wet. He just reached forward from his safe, dry spot and poked his stick into the water, and poof . . . the sea parted. God gave the instruction, and Moses had the faith to believe it, and act on it! But, here? The Priests were instructed to go beyond past revelation, to go beyond their past experiences of faith, and believe God for something new, bigger and certainly scarier! So, the priests load up the Ark of the Covenant, and move toward the storm swelled rivers edge. This was a river that was very likely boiling, churning and slapping at their feet; which likely stirred up in them fear, doubt, and more questions than answers. Most of the year the Jordan River was nothing more than a trickling brook. But during the season of the harvest, it was over-flowing and storm swelled. So, the priests stepped into those storm-swelled waters as an act of obedience more than an act of faith, and watched a powerful miracle of God; as God heaped up the waters on either side making provision for them, or as the song says . . . a "bridge over troubled water."

I realize from reading this passage, that before the miracle could take place, it required the priests to step into a raging, question filled, fearful situation as an active participant in the storm calming miracle of God. I realize also, that faith is not something we grasp, but actually it's something that grasps us! Let me explain. Faith realized by action, grabs us and propells us to the next, even greater response and faith step.

What ever storm we face, we must join God in the midst of it, without running from the storm. In doing so, we actually run into the arms of God, who calms the sea, and makes a way for us to cross over the "rough spots" of our lives!

So, Heavenly Father, in wet-feet faith, I run into the storm and into Your arms!

The Devil's Playground

How is it that we think we hear from God, we pray, we journal, we act on the direction that we believe God is leading, only to find out we were wrong. Sometimes we take stands, for or against a person or position based on these inclinations, intuitions, and nudges from a supernatural source . . . that we assume to be our Heavenly Father. How is it that we can believe so strongly that we've heard God's voice and leading and yet . . . find ourselves even more confused by what we find to be quite the opposite?

How can we trust ourselves then, to those misleading impulses? These impulses can lead us to hurt others, even though we would never want that to happen. These impulses can lead us to find ourselves confused and dazed in the aftermath of revealed truth. They can make us afraid to trust that it is even possible to hear God speak to us at all.

Can this happen to faithful, well grounded Christians? YOU BETCHA!

God is supernatural . . . but we are not. We are simply humans trying to be in relationship with an untangible (as we know it) Savior, that only by faith can we truly grasp.

So, the original question then is . . . how is it that we can miss God? There are more ways to respond to this, then there are people on this planet. But, let me address it this way. OUR MINDS! Phineas Drake in his book "God's Plan For Man" says this:
"The greatest danger for spiritual believers is to accept anything and everything in the realm of the supernatural as being from God. Such believers have consecratd themselves to yield to the Holy Spirit and the leadings of God, and they think that they cannot be deceived and be led by evil spirits through counterfeit docrines and leadings. But the fact that the believer is a child of God does not stop the devil from trying in every conceivable way to imitate God to the believer. In fact, believers are the ones he concentrates upon and wars against. Paul said, "And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works." (2 Cor. 11:14-15). This makes it clear that counterfeitrs of satan will be substitutes of truth and as near to the light and truth as possible in order to deceive seekers after truth."

I'm also reminded of the verse in the Bible that says that "every intent of the thoughts of the heart was only evil continually" (Gen. 6:5) Let it be clear, that in scripture, the word mind and heart are often used interchangeably. For example, "And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart . . ." (Lk 9:47)and, "O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep this forever in the intent of the thoughts of the heart of Your people, and fix their heart toward You. (1 Ch 29:18). (There are many, many more scriptures that prove this, but for this writing, let these two suffice.)

Therefore, friends, we can not follow our heart, or our mind. We must follow our spirit, the very spirit of God, and be led by faith. There are times when the thoughts of our hearts and minds are shaded through a lense that is distorted by the words of others, or our own fears, or even by seeds that are planted through "many counselors." These often turn out to be what I call "evil reports." Ah, but that is another article all together.

The only way I know how to learn to hear God successfully is by stepping out in faith each time you are nudged. When you find that you were wrong, let those be learning experiences. I find those many times of error in my life, has been the very times that I learned what, who and how, God DOESN'T sound; which has helped me to learn who, what, and how, God DOES sound. One thing is for sure. God won't be found in all the noise . . . but in the still small voice (I Kings 19). So, get alone and listen. And if you're wrong . . . then admit that you are, humble yourself, and keep trying!