His Faithfulness. Our Joy.
the pressure’s off, friend
The Quote
Praise God that his plans do not rely on my faithfulness, his joy doesn’t hinge on my good behavior, his glory doesn’t depend on my performance. I stumble along, chasing my own agendas and plotting my own ends, occasionally offering him the reverence he is perpetually due. He is unruffled and unharmed by my inconsistency. He is pleased to be glorified either through me or in spite of me, but he does not need me in the least. And yet he loves me, deeply and eternally, for no other reason than “according to the good pleasure of his will” (Ephesians 1:3-6)
Jen Wilkin, None Like Him
If you feel like your faith is weak I want you to know it’s not going to get you off the path. You’re still walking Home. Our hope in life is not in our faith. It’s in His faithfulness. & that is what changes everything.
I think that’s what I love about faith.
The pressure’s off. Faith isn’t something we can work or muster up. Faith is a gift from God. Given by grace & with kindness. It’s not something we achieve in our own effort. (Ephesians 2:8)
Faith is not mindless. It’s not irrational. & yet no amount of thinking or reason on its own can bring us to love God. He restores us to himself, removes our hearts of stone, & gives us life. (Ezekiel 36:26-27).
Let me rephrase.
God gives us grace to believe for salvation. & then He gives us the ability to live by faith. The ability to trust, depend, & rely on Him. To keep going. No matter what we may face. Because we’ve been transformed by Him. His love. His grace. & His power. We get to embrace a new & better way of life.
I get to walk in all He has for me. What better way is there?
Let me remind you of our way…
Our natural inclination is to be fearful. To doubt. We worry about the big things & the small things. We’re quick to think life is hard & to wish things were easier. We want more control. We want less stress. We get anxious over the future because we don’t know how it’s all going to play out.
When we’re living on what we no longer can see or our mind can understand, faith turns its eyes. Gazes upon. Looks to Him.
The Good news:
When we find ourselves feeling lost, in the middle of challenges, & when life really is hard & dark. When we’re tired & when we feel weak, worn out, & we’re having a no good, & a very bad day, we can confidently look to Him. His presence. His promises. His provision. His better way of life. We can still run the race. & He wants us to run!
He encourages us to take heart. Not because we will figure it out. But because He has overcome the world & all that comes with it. (John 16:33)
It’s in those moments we get to enter His rest. We get to let Him do the heavy lifting. Because His burden is easy & He is gentle & lowly in heart. (Matthew 11:29)
Weak faith is exactly what He’s there for. He gives us what we need to help us accomplish what He has called us to do. For the good of others & the glory of God. He’s not going to leave us. He is with us. & He stays with us. (Deuteronomy 31:6)
His love is strong. So strong that it endures forever. (Psalm 136) & We should endure because He endured. (Hebrews 12)
God is traveling with his people. His presences goes with them. He’s walking us home.
How then do we walk by faith?
Trust your yesterday, today, & tomorrow to the One who was, is, & is to come.
“We are not promised certainty in our circumstances, but we are promised certainty in the God of our circumstances.” Jen Wilkin
We honor God by loving Him with not only our heart & soul, but also our mind.
“Knowledge of God begets love of God. He gave us minds so that we could know Him, find joy in knowing Him, and thus bring Him glory.” RC Sproul
Think, read the Bible, seek understanding of God’s Word like your life depends on it. Pray that God will give you understanding & true knowledge of Himself.
He promises that our salvation is secure, no matter what (John 10:28-29).
He promises to never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).
He promises to finish the good work he has begun in us (Philippians 1:6).
He promises to give us wisdom if we ask (James 1:5).
He promises to provide a way out of temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13).
He promises to come back (Luke 12:40)
These promises are sure & steadfast. Knowing we look to a God who keeps His promises is a source of deep joy.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith…” Hebrews 12:1-2
I keep an on-going record of notes on my phone. This post is a combination of thoughts & notes & what I learned from Jen Wilkin, Paul David Tripp, Discover Grace Church (Orlando), Knowing Faith Podcast, a Sunday sermon, & the Bible.