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Real Faith

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by:  Staci Stallings

Faith is the bedrock of being a Christian. Few people would argue that fact.  However, I recently read something that caused me to go, “Hmm… I never thought about it like that.”

The author of the piece pointed out that faith no longer seems to mean what it once did.  It, like so many other things and words in our society today, has been cheapened.  That cheapening affects not just our understanding of the word but also how we put it into practice in our lives.

There are five definitions for faith on Dictionary.com.  They are:

  1. confidence or trust in a person or thing
  2. belief that is not based on proof
  3. belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion
  4. belief in anything, as a code of ethics, standards of merit
  5. a system of religious belief

 

Our basic problem in Christianity stems from the fact that the world has, in the minds of many, replaced the first definition with the second.

The first definition speaks about “trust.”  The second only speaks about believing in something you cannot see.

Now don’t misunderstand me.  The second is important.  The problem is when we completely supplant it for the first.

Let me offer it this way:  I can believe in God–i.e. believe He exists without trusting Him.

Merely believing that He exists gets us no farther on our faith walk than believing another person exists gets us married.  Yes, that belief in His existence is important, but you can believe God and Christ exist and not experience what Christian living is all about.

Why?

Because the belief in their existence is not what changes your life.  It is only in experiencing and living the first definition of faith that real Christianity and real faith begin to be manifested.StaciStallings_DreamSeries3DBoxSet_800px

Once I clear the first hurdle of believing in God, the next leap of faith–trusting Him must be made or “Christian life” will feel exactly as “non-Christian life” felt.  It will still be all up to me.  I will continue to try to self-effort myself through life.

You see these types of Christians all the time.  They work and they do and they serve.  They are in the choir and on the finance council.  They run from church meeting to church meeting.  If they aren’t exhausted yet, they soon will be.

I know.  I was one of those Christians.

It was only when God allowed my self-effort to prove to me how futile it was that I went seeking for another answer, and the Answer I found was in the first definition–in fully trusting God.  It was only when I began to fully trust God and Christ and stop relying on myself that I found what I had been searching for the whole time:  A victorious Christian walk etched in grace and forgiveness and love.

When I put that first definition into practice, I found that it really is as easy as just letting God love me and then giving that love to others.

It was only when I found real faith, rooted in the FIRST definition of faith that my life began to have meaning and peace and hope.  I believe that life is offered to everyone, just don’t fall for the trap that believing in God’s existence is enough.  You must take that second (albeit scary) step of fully trusting Him in every aspect of your life to experience the incredible freedom that God can in your spirit, your world, and your life.

Staci Stallings (87 Posts)

A stay-at-home mom with a husband, three kids and a writing addiction on the side, Staci Stallings has numerous titles for readers to choose from. Not content to stay in one genre and write it to death, Staci’s stories run the gamut from young adult to adult, from motivational and inspirational to full-out Christian and back again. Every title is a new adventure! That’s what keeps Staci writing and you reading. Although she lives in Amarillo, Texas and her main career right now is her family, Staci touches the lives of people across the globe with her various Internet and writing endeavors.


Comments

  1. Wow, Staci, what an insightful posting. You’re right, we’re so conditioned in our culture to “do” on our own effort that we try to make faith something we do, too. Trusting is harder. I find I have to keep re-learning this lesson over and over.

  2. Enjoyed reading your post on faith and trust. I have to say I always have faith but when things doesn’t happen when I want it to, I get discourage and then I have a trust issue. But in order to continue strengthening my faith and trust in God I go back to what was taught … Everything works out in God’s time. His timing his perfect because he knows the plan he has for me, plans to prosper me and not harm me, plans to give hope and a future.

  4. My hope and trust is in God. I just wish that I would get better about handing things to God first, before trying to solve problems myself first. :-)

  6. Thanks Staci!
    That was beautifully written.
    I think it’s something I need to hear over and over again.

  9. Beautiful post, Staci. Several years ago, when the company I worked for closed, I was unemployed for the first time in my life. I had faith I would find a new job, but I had to trust God, that he would provide. And boy did he! I ended up in a better place with better benefits.

  10. Thanks for posting this. I’ve learned that you can have faith in God without trusting Him enough to let go and let Him take care of all situations. The incredible freedom is real!

  11. Thank you for sharing your thoughts concerning this important topic with us. Being raised by a church deacon it was easy for me to think church busyness showed how much you loved God. It wasn’t until I was living on my own that I learned God isn’t looking for our busyness. He is looking for a relationship. He wants to know we believe and trust in Him and are willing to share Him with those we meet.

  12. Staci, thank you for your insightful post. I have loved reading your inspirational stories. So appreciate how you are using God’s gifts to bless all of us through your writing.

  15. I told a friend once that it’s like we pray “Thy will be done, but it better be done MY way!” Letting go of “my way” has been one of the most challenging things in my life, but it has also shown me that God’s way is always higher than my way. Once I got there, faith–confidence and trust in Him–became a lot easier.

  21. Getting out of the boat is hard. It has never gotten any easier. Sometimes we are pushed out. Sometimes we step out, but getting out never feels safe…. until you KNOW Who is on the water with you! And only experience can teach you that He really CAN be trusted!

  23. Ah, yes, busyness. It looks so holy and can be such a spirit drain if you don’t get that God has to be the One driving. The only way that happens is to recognize your need for the relationship and be willing to be in the relationship with Him.

  24. You nailed it Staci! Faith isn’t faith until it’s tested in the fire of trust….do you trust God in the hard times or have faith in His promise for you when you can’t see it come to pass? That’s when my faith grows anyway! Simply saying I have faith in God, but people around me can’t see it in my trust…well that just won’t do! I’ve known Christians like that too (used to be one) & it’s what I call surface-faith….it goes no further than your skin, never deeper in your heart where it needs to be! Let’s live out our faith so not only we can GROW but other people can SEE :-)
    I hope that made sense!

  29. I loved your post and I know how true it is. To truly trust God with all things brings such peace. Thank you for this very helpful post. Love your books because they bring messages about true faith and wonderful stories of real people.

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