Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith. Habakkuk 2:4

What does it take to walk by faith? This is a question I have been pondering for a couple of months now and with the New Year here I feel God strongly impressing on my heart that the word FAITH is my word for this year.

Last year my word was healing, and 2011 definitely brought healing in every area of my life. It seems a bit strange to go from healing to faith because in my mind it takes faith to bring healing. However seeing God’s faithfulness in bringing healing to my life will definitely be fresh in my mind as I learn to walk in faith this year.

Part of me is afraid. The fear that comes with walking in faith is there because of the unknown. Faith means I won’t have all the answers, and right now I would LOVE some answers. Or maybe I will think I have the answers only to have everything fall out of place again only to leave me with more questions than answers.

Faith means trusting God when you can’t see past two feet in front of you. It means walking down a winding road in the fog with confidence and boldness only because you KNOW that you’re here because that’s where God has brought you.

Walking in faith is not easy for me, especially since I am pretty comfortable worrying and being afraid of everything. I like to have control and I like to plan and set goals. But lately my plans and goals seem to be falling through the cracks and all I’m left with is my faith in God and His promises – which really seems to be enough.

So in 2012 I plan to walk by faith so I can also walk in His grace.

Faith brings us grace because when we walk by faith we find our self in a vulnerable place where we let go of control and surrender to Him. We can’t walk by faith if we have a heart of pride. Faith brings us to a place of humility because we finally find our strength in Him instead of what we can accomplish on our own.

Faith is enough. God is enough. His promises are enough, and He always keeps His promises.

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for another hour, day, week, year. It is a wonderful blessing to be alive and well. Thank you for your provision and healing. So much has happened last year, and I look back on it with gratitude in my heart. Right now it’s difficult to find that gratitude, joy, and confidence simply because things aren’t going the way I had planned, and I have no clue where things are going really. I am grateful for the rainbows You send me, they remind me that You always keep Your promises. I think I can walk down the path You lead me with confidence and boldness this year if I can get a little glimpse of Your promises and a rainbow every once in awhile. Lord, even though it’s not easy to walk by faith, I also know it is a blessing because it keeps me focused on YOU and YOUR strength and provision in my life. And for that I am grateful. I pray this in your might son Jesus’ name. – AMEN!

Copyright © 2012 Heather Bixler, All Rights Reserved

Today I am linking up with “What is Your Word for 2012?“

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I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:1-3

Often our heart and motivation to do something can be wrong.

A lot of times we can be motivated by our fear and desires, rather than our motivation to serve others and God. When we are motivated by our fear or our desires to do something the result often leads to control, anger, and frustration. We may even lose the trust of those around us. But what else can we expect when we ourselves do not trust in god?

Being a wife and mother takes a lot of faith. So often we feel the call to be perfect, but God never asked us to be perfect. In Ephesians 4:2 it tells us that in order to have the right motivation when it comes to answering our call we need to keep a humble heart. In other words it’s OK you’re not perfect, that’s the whole point!

Recently I have been noticing where I am weak. Often I like cling to my successes and forget my failures. But now I see where I fail God succeeds. If we are ever going to live a life where we are being led by the Holy Spirit we need to embrace the truth, and the truth is we are weak. However the good news is that when we are weak we are also humble, and the Holy Spirit is able to work in our lives. Then we are motivated to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord.

Sometimes our motivation isn’t always right, but humility comes when we are able to confess that our motivation is wrong. Humility doesn’t try to make things better or perfect, humility surrenders their weaknesses to God. Humility opens our heart to be motivated every day by the Holy Spirit…

Prayer:

Dear God, Thank you for bringing me to a place where I can recognize my weaknesses and surrender them to you. Even though I know bringing me to this point is never easy. Lord I will continue to seek You so that truth will always be revealed to me. Sometimes all I have is my love for You that brings me to the point of seeking Your truth, and I am thankful for You always being by my side, teaching me, and guiding me. Lord be my strength where I am weak. I pray this in Jesus’ name. – AMEN!

Copyright © 2011 Heather Bixler, All Rights Reserved

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“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6 (ESV)

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9 (ESV)

A brain fuzzy from lack of sleep, I try to handle a sibling conflict. Impatient, I speak harshly. I enforce unnecessary consequences. Later, I realize I had made matters worse. I wasn’t Christ-like in my interactions with my children. Instead of pointing them toward Christ, my behavior turned them away.

Some days, my failures as a mother point an accusing finger straight at my soul. It tells me I am no good and a failure as a Christ-follower.

Do you have days where you feel like you’ve failed in your walk with Christ?

Scripture challenges those lies that I am a failure. Instead, it tells me that while I was yet a sinner, Christ died for me. (Romans 5:8) When I stumble in my walk, I remind myself that he bore those very sins on the cross. His grace covers me each time I fall.

Not only that, the Bible tells me that the path to holiness has already been paved. The righteous life Jesus lived is given to me. I just need to walk in it. He will complete the good work he started. Christ paid a high price for me, He will not allow me to fail.

I rest in that promise and it strengthens me.

On those days where I stumble in my flesh, He pulls me back up so that I may stand on the road of grace. And I remember anew the Love that died for me. It was His grace that paid for me, His grace that gives me His righteousness and His grace that helps me to continue my walk with Him.

Do you sense His grace today?

For further reading: Hebrews 4:16, 2 Peter 1:2, Romans 5:10

Copyright © 2011 Christina Fox, All Rights Reserved

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