I Am Finally Able to “Rely On My Faith”, But What Does That Mean?
It’s taken me most of my baby boomer years, and though it can be interpreted a variety of ways, I finally understand what it means to truly rely on my faith. I’ll admit…it was a bit of a mystery to me for awhile. I would see people on TV that were going through trials; perhaps a natural disaster or an athlete that just shredded his knee right before the Super Bowl. Maybe it was someone that just lost a loved one in a terrible way. Often, those folks being interviewed were asked, “what do you do now” or “how do you keep going” after such a terrible thing has happened?
Oftentimes their answer was something to the effect of, “we will just have to rely on our faith” or “I will need to rely on my faith” to get through this. As a newer Christian, I couldn’t make the full leap between having faith in the risen Christ to forgive my sins and take me to heaven, and getting through a terrible tragedy.
Faith Comes by Hearing and Hearing by the Word of God
Fortunately, we serve a God that wants you to have faith in Him, and he is willing to take the time to ensure you understand him thoroughly. You do need to put in the time however. Heartfelt prayer time and diligent bible study are critical to spiritual growth. That growth and learning are what it takes for you to get to the point of understanding the full scope of God’s love and plan for you, and be able to say, I rely on my faith.
Faith is a process, and may require some tough times to get the full curriculum of life lessons and for your faith to mature. What you learn over time is that each bible story, each verse you read, and each bible teaching you listen to build an unseen core of strength inside you.
Still, how does that core faith cause or allow me to rely on my faith? For me it least, it all came down to four simple words: Your will be done.
Your Will Be Done Lord
On it’s own, it seems flippant to just say, your will be done, and then go about our business. Where the rubber meets the road is in that prayer time. When you’ve praised the Lord for the good things in your life, and you’ve asked Him for the daily bread to get through the troubles of today, then you are poised to allow for His will to be done tomorrow, and thereafter.
This is more easily done when you remember…no, rather when you KNOW the following:
- God desperately loves you and truly wants you to have joy.
- In His infinite wisdom, God knows what’s best for you in the long run, in every circumstance.
- He is willing to turn bad outcomes into something good (Romans 8:28).
- He is faithful in all He does and has promised.
Getting To The Point Where I Can Rely On My Faith
So how do we get there? As mentioned, we have to first know and believe those bulleted promises above, and hundreds of others in the Word of God. That knowledge comes from that diligent process of worship, prayer, and the study of the Word.
The magic happens when you really believe those things. When you can say to the Lord, your will be done, and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that His will is the best thing for you, it’s unbelievably freeing. Instead of worrying about what’s going to happen next week with your job, your problem teenager, or perhaps your health…you just give it up to Him.
Lord, your will be done in this situation, because you have never done me wrong, always proved faithful, and know me better than I know my sinful self. I know that whatever happens, your will shall prevail, and in the end whatever you decide will be best for me.
Is It Really That Simple?
In truth, yes…it is that simple. Once you have grown to the point where you can say, I will rely on my faith, then you can simply wait on the Lord. It’s critical that we truly believe and desire that His will for us is the best outcome. We may have to endure for awhile to get to that outcome, but as long as we are acting in faith and praying for His help and His will to be done, we can be assured that it will be.
For that athlete that shredded his knee, he can say I will rely on my faith to get through this, but he’s also going to rehab that knee and work to get healthy again. Perhaps he will come back better and stronger, or perhaps something else will catch his attention during the process. Maybe with all the exposure to the medical field, he finds that he has developed a love for medicine. Perhaps instead he ended up in the broadcast booth as a commentary guest and fell in love with that industry.
In the end, he finds himself in a worthwhile vocation that gives him joy. No, the Lord did not put him back on the football field. We might even say the Lord did NOT answer his prayer to play football again. However…the Lord knew what was better for him, and better for the Kingdom of God in general and provided a new and potentially better or longer lasting career for him. It may have been a long and painful transition, but was no less rewarding in the end.
A Lifetime of Relying on Faith
We could cite thousands of examples from thousands years where the Lord has proven himself, but that’s not the point here. I really just want to get across the fact that today, despite some of the large obstacles we are facing right now, I can rely on my faith. If I know and understand that the Lord is bigger, better, and smarter than any problem I will face and that my worldly decisions will not be as good as His heavenly ones, I can be in a good place.
As long as I face those problems knowing that the Lord has my best interest at heart…and He really and truly does…then whatever He decides will be enough for me. More importantly, I don’t have to fret or worry about what might happen next week, next month, or next year. It takes awhile to get to this place where I can rely on my faith, but I am happy to be here now!