What is faith?
There is a good chance you might have heard it said that faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see. But what does that look like practically?
I want to share a personal story with you.
About six years ago, I was talking with a mentor of mine who briefly mentioned that the Lord wakes her up every morning. I stopped her mid-conversation to clarify what she meant. She told me that she didn’t use an alarm clock, but trusted the Lord to wake her up every day.
We continued chatting, but I couldn’t get that thought out of my mind. Now, you need to understand that at the time I was the kind of person who was so afraid of being late for something that I would set at least two alarms every single day so I had a backup if for some reason I missed the first alarm.
In the weeks that followed our conversation, I continued pondering what my mentor had said. I knew the Lord was challenging me to make this a lifestyle as well.
Something else you should know about me is that I’m kind of an “all or nothing” type of person. I don’t make a decision unless I am pretty confident it is right, and I won’t make a promise unless I know I can keep it. So this was a big deal to me, and I really wrestled with God. I knew I couldn’t just try it for a few nights, or when I didn’t have anything going on the next day. I needed to be ready to accept the risk of whole-hearted commitment.
“Do I believe God is real? Do I believe He is personal and cares enough to actually wake me up every morning? Do I believe He is sovereign over my life and that He knows better than I do how much sleep I need? What if He wakes me up “late?” Do I trust Him enough to assume there is a reason for that scenario (such as avoiding a car accident, or meeting someone specific at just the right time)? What would other people think of me if a punctual person such as myself suddenly started arriving late to events or to work?” These were just a few of the thoughts that kept circulating in my head.
Finally, I took the plunge.
One night I decided that unless the Lord spoke differently in the future, that I would no longer use any alarm clocks to wake me up. Ever. Again.
To be honest, I was terrified. But I knew what I had heard and what I had to do.
Days that I didn’t have anything going on the next morning were no problem. But every night before I had to be up earlier than usual the next day, I was anxious. I had trouble falling asleep, and I usually didn’t sleep very well. (Two of the hardest nights were when I needed to be up at 3:30am to catch a flight!) But as time went on, I began to see God’s faithfulness as I completely surrendered this area of my life to Him.
And I learned something.
I was feeling so badly (and even guilty) that I was still afraid that God wouldn’t wake me, even after months and then years of trusting the Lord in this way and seeing Him be faithful. But I began to understand something.
Faith is not the absence of fear.
Faith is action. For me, it was in the practical action of choosing each night not to set an alarm.
And that pleases God.
I began to understand more deeply that you can say you believe whatever you want. But until your actions reflect it, it’s just words. True faith will always result in a change of action.
- You can say you believe that Jesus is your Lord, but if you don’t do what He says, you don’t really believe it.
- You can say you believe that your parachute works, but until you jump out of the airplane, it’s just words.
- You can say you believe that a chair can hold your weight, but until you sit and entrust all of your weight to that chair, it’s just words.
A second thing I learned is that the Lord wants to spend time with us, even more than we want to spend time with Him. Part way through this adventure I began asking the Lord to wake me earlier than He already did so I could spend time with Him in the mornings before starting my day. And He did, far too predictably to call it coincidence. My conclusion? He is relational. He wants us to know Him and spend time with Him. And He loves to spend time with us.
A brief side note about learning things: You can learn something in your head, or you can learn something by experience. Both of the two biggest things that I learned through this experiment I already “knew” in my head. If you had given me a test in a classroom I would have selected the right answers. But until I learned it by experience, I had no personal story to share. You can’t argue with a personal experience. This is a huge part of how we know God really exists and of our relationship with Him: by experiencing Him.
Disclaimer: I want to make it clear that by no means do I think every single person who hears this story needs to throw away his or her alarm clocks. Just because the Lord led me to do this doesn’t mean He asks it of all of His children. That would be wrong of me to assume. In fact, some of you might be convicted about sleeping late and the Lord wants you to start setting an alarm! You have to be led of the Lord into your own experiences. He will speak to you in a personal way that you can hear and understand.
Is God asking you to step out in faith and experience Him?
Is He lovingly pursuing you until you feel you can’t escape, and you know He is asking you to surrender your life to Him and trust Him as your Savior? Sin separates us from God, because God is perfect, and we are not. But when Jesus died He took all of your sin upon Himself so that your sin no longer separates you from God. Because of Jesus you can know God, and that is life!
Is He reminding you that you aren’t really following Him as Lord? Is He leading you to give up your rights, your sense of entitlement, your possessions, or even your very life should He ask it of you? He speaks personally, daily, and it is often the way of sacrifice, of denying yourself. He promised that His sheep would know His voice. He speaks in a way we can understand.
If you want to start experiencing God but don’t know how, start with something small. Start by talking to Him. Ask Him questions. Keep a journal to track all the ways you begin seeing Him answer and speak. Find one small area of your life that you are able to completely surrender to Him, and watch and see how much He can do with that one thing completely open to Him. He loves you, and He loves the adventure and journey of this life in relationship with you.
Kingdom seeker 