Two weeks ago I started something new here called Faith Fridays. I’ve continued to read through Sun Stand Still by pastor Steven Furtick of Elevation Church. And I am constantly putting the book down on fire, empowered, and just in awe the potential that audacious faith can have on our lives. Steven is real, he puts God’s Word into a modern-day context, and he’s passionate about what he does. His passion for people to find audacious faith in their lives is contagious.
What is audacious faith? I explained it here and give a great quote from the book. This week I’d like to share another excerpt.
“There’s always a trade off. Before God can bring his promises to pass in your life, he has to strip away all the stuff that keeps you from trusting him wholeheartedly… The thing is, sometimes God has to let your dream die so that his vision for you can come alive. I’ve met many great men and women of God who pinpoint the most confusing and agonizing failures of their lives as the impetus behind their most significant spiritual advancement.”
In the book, Steven talks about Twelve Faith Confessions and how hearing the Word initiates our faith, speaking the Word activates our faith, and finally doing the Word demonstrates faith. These twelve Faith confessions will help us do just that. They are based off of comprehensive teachings of God’s word. And I love all twelve of them. Every Friday I will be sharing a new one.
This week we re-assure ourselves that we can, will, and are full able to fulfill the calling God has placed on our lives. We will give all of our trust to Him because we know that he is faithful to keep his promise. Let Him work on you, your life, and address all those things that keep you from trusting Him.
It is my hope that you will print it off, you will post it somewhere where you will see it every day. I plan to put mine in my bathroom. On the mirror. And as I look in the mirror every morning for a week, I will speak God’s word to me.
So welcome again to Faith Friday. I hope you will find your audacious faith with me!
“The thing is, sometimes God has to let your dream die so that his vision for you can come alive. I’ve met many great men and women of God who pinpoint the most confusing and agonizing failures of their lives as the impetus behind their most significant spiritual advancement.”
I have a feeling that this, one of the truly most confusing and agonizing times in my life, might be the impetus behind my most significant spiritual advancement, like he says. My family has been ripped apart since my dad died last April and the reason why is faith- (or lack thereof) centred. I have tried to fix/maintain/have a relationship with two members of my family for the last 15 months and no matter what I do they keep pushing me away. I don’t know what I’ve ‘done’ but they feel done wrong by God and do not ‘like’ that I’m a Christian and have turned to atheism/unbelieving and this free-thinking movement for comfort. I’ve pretty much had to choose God over them and it’s hard and confusing, but with a lot of prayer and studying the Word, I know it’s the only thing to do and I just pray that one day they will learn His mercy, grace and the power of forgiveness. Thanks for this post.
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I will be praying for you my friend. I often times forget what a blessing it is to come from a Christian family and to have been raised in the faith. Our pastor told us a convicting story about prayer and faith and never giving up on our prayer requests. He said his grandma was never a Christian woman, even though he went through Bible College and became a pastor. She never cared about faith, she never trusted in religion. He said it took her coming to one of his services after nearly 25 years of praying for her before she finally “got it”. She finally dedicated her life to the Lord and attended his church every Sunday up until he moved. I cannot even imagine praying for something for 25 years and I can imagine there were times when he just felt like giving up hope. Don’t give up hope! He is working in and through you. 🙂
“There’s always a trade off. Before God can bring his promises to pass in your life, he has to strip away all the stuff that keeps you from trusting him wholeheartedly…”
This quote hit me like the famous V8 commercials!!! If I don’t trust Him, how can He trust ME!?!? This is the second time The Holy Spirit has planted this truth right in front of my face. I think I trust Him, but I know it isn’t wholeheartedly. Do we even know what wholeheartedly means? The depth of His love for us is beyond our understanding. Thank you for sharing this passage from Mr. Furtick’s book. This will be added to my wish list.
Blessings
I’m a West Texas cotton farmers wife named, Kaaren
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Kaaren, Thank you for the comment. I love your sentiment in that “do we even know what wholeheartedly means?” The depth of His love CONSTANTLY leaves me in awe. He FIRST loved us. He loves THE WORLD. The good and the bad. We have an amazing Lord and trusting him is hard. But I know without a doubt when we put our full trust in Him, he will bless our lives more than we can possibly imagine! 🙂 The book is awesome, for lack of a better word. It leaves me literally on fire and so inspired!