Walking by faith and having a crisis of belief

This book. Super good. Our small group is going through it right now, and I am going to be really sad when it's over. I feel like everyone in group is learning a lot, the study is not burdensome and I honestly look forward to going through each week.

This past week focuses on walking by faith and having a crisis of belief. 

Christians are called to walk with God . . . and having an ongoing relationship with Him requires us to trust Him, even when (or especially when) we cannot see what He is doing.

When circumstances start to become difficult, will we trust God and seek after Him? Will we exercise faith, believing that He is who He says He is? Will we continue to go to Him for direction and provision, even when we can't see? Or will we go our own way, trusting ourselves, our resources and our perspective instead?

No matter what stage of life you're in or what difficulties you are facing, you can apply this to your life.

Here are some nuggets from this week's study:

Faith is confidence that what God promised or said will come to pass. Sight is the opposite of faith. If you can clearly see how something can be accomplished, more than likely, faith is not required. 

We forget that when God speaks, He always reveals what He is going to do - not what He wants us to do for Him. We join Him so He can do His work through us. We don't have to be able to accomplish the task with our limited ability or resources. With faith we can confidently proceed to obey Him because we know He is going to bring to pass what He purposes. Jesus indicated that what is impossible with man is possible with God (see Mark 10:27). The scriptures continually bear witness that this is true. 

What you do reveals what you believe about God, regardless of what you say. When God reveals what He is purposing to do, you face a crisis - a decision time. God and the world can tell from your response what you really believe about God. Your trust in God will determine what you do and how you live.  

A crisis of belief is not a calamity in your life but a turning point where you must make a decision. You must decide what you truly believe about God. 

There are times in my life where I have faced this crisis of belief . . . did I trust that God would provide, or would I turn the other direction and miss out on what He had for me? Things that only He could provide, like when I had to raise support for a mission trip to Nicaragua. I was in a position where I had to trust God . . . I was forced to depend on Him more fully.

Where have you faced this turning point in your life? It's not a one-time experience, God will continually bring us to places where we are humbled and must rely on Him. When God comes through in the way that only He can, it strengthens our faith and our relationship with Him.

I recently went on a trip for memorial day with a ton of other singles. When I came back from the trip, I was struggling with discontentment and fearing that online dating is the only way I will ever find someone.

I believe God used this study to speak to me in that discontentment. I had to stop and realize . . . these thoughts and my anxiety are showing me what I believe about God. I am believing that He won't provide, or that He needs my help (and the internet's help) in this area of my life.

The way I live reveals what I believe about God. Once again, He is calling me to trust Him when I cannot see how He will provide. In every season, God is calling us to walk by faith and come to that crucial point . . . will we rely on our resources and abilities, or will we turn to Him with open hands?