For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. 1 Cor 13:12

It is this desire to find understanding that led me to the truth in Christ. But it has also made me feel very insecure, unsettled in everyday life. But now I think I “understand” how to close this gap, By faith! First, I cannot possibly understand every situation, and two, God does, So, the only way I can close the gap is by faith. Faith-based understanding.

Ironically, I have such confidence for this in tech / business meetings where my understanding is woefully incomplete. He will drop a word of knowledge, understanding in my spirit. I must believe for this well proven relationship to be everywhere, and every situation. Faith is how I can enter His rest as described in Hebrew’s 4. God is not striving, neither should we. Let Him bring it to us when we need it. He knows.

When we speak God’s word, supernatural forces go to work on our behalf.

Bless the Lord, you His angels, mighty in strength who perform His word, obeying the voice of His word! Psalm 103:20

After fasting and being alone in the desert for 40 days, the devil tempted Jesus three times. Each time, Jesus spoke scripture from the Torah (Old Testament) to defeat the devil. This is one reason it is important to read the bible. It is a very powerful tool in our life.

There is one catch. You must speak these words with some degree of faith. Ask God for this.

When Mary found out she was pregnant, she could have freaked, knowing that being pregnant and unmarried could result in death, and at the very least, losing the man she loved. But as Elizabeth spoke…

And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord. Luke 1:45

To stop natural law from killing her she could have tried to take the natural solution and kill her baby. She could have run and hid, then given the baby away. I’m sure many ideas raced through her mind in the dead of night. So many paths she could direct and be in control. Anything other than the unnatural walk of faith. In many cases, faith means do nothing except trust God. In Mary’s case, to save her life. How could he?

For nothing will be impossible with God. Luke 1:37

God speaks to us to advance us. We must couple what we hear with belief.

And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord. Luke 1:45

Read the bible and ask God to take you into the words, to speak to you. When something really seems to connect with your heart, that is God speaking to you. Unite that connection with your belief, wait and persevere through all the doubts and wondering that follow. That is faith.

Don’t try to be too specific in how you apply this heart-felt connection to the events in your own life. We rarely see God’s big picture. Also, it’s hard to hear clearly for matters of our own life because biases, hopes and fears  cause us to filter and twist our interpretation. We need help. That’s why Paul wrote…

In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. 2Cor 13:1

So look for the intersection of your own experiences along with others speaking to you unaware of your circumstance.

Do not be defined by your sin.

I know from my own experience, that when I have a nagging sin that I cannot get victory over, I tend to get a sense of self condemnation and unworthiness. But I can’t do it myself. The illusion that I can, the attempt to do so makes me self-righteous. The truth is, even in our best moments of righteousness, we fall way short of God’s righteousness.

For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment… Isaiah 64:6

Rather, see yourself as already righteous. See yourself as God already sees you. How’s that? As a believer in Jesus Christ, Father God sees you through Jesus’ blood of atonement. He sees you as He sees Jesus — perfect, whole and complete.

Jesus was crucified alongside a two thieves — both guilty as sin. One saw Jesus, by faith, as his Savior. Jesus said to him, “today you will be with me in paradise”. We too, as believers, see ourselves should see our selves the same. As worthy of life with Him. The Apostle Paul had the same view…

…and [we] may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith…” Phil 3:9

It is our own vanity that wants to build a bridge to righteousness. Why? So we can be in control. That is the opposite of faith.
God does want us to pursue righteousness…

But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 1 Timothy 6:11

If your righteousness is not built on this foundation of the faith through the blood, through the cross, then it is destined for repeated failures and the accompanying corrosive emotion of condemnation. That’s no way to live.

Look both ways before you cross the road.

That’s what my mother taught me. Now days, I often see fear one way and faith the other.

When I have a big decision, I often have the feeling I am about to step out into traffic on a busy interstate. I’m just waiting for the proverbial bus that is going to mow me down. Failure! BAM! That is fear.

I also have the choice of faith. Believing for the best. I have free will to choose where to place my heart. Faith is trusting in the Lord. Fear and faith cannot occupy the same space in my heart at the same time. The following scripture encourages me to choose faith, to realize that I am blessed no matter what happens.

And blessed is he who trusts in the Lord. Proverbs 16:20

I must believe I am going to be blessed simply by the fact that I am trusting in the Lord, and not because of the quality of my decision making. I do believe you can influence the outcome through faith. But I must let events play out over time to make the ultimate assessment of whether I was blessed or not. I can say that after 25+ years trusting the Lord, I have never come up short. But the paths I have ended up walking have been very different and very rough at times. But the rough spots always bring about the character transformation that is foundational to receiving the blessings mentioned in Proverbs 16:20. It is the transformed character that brings about true happiness we all seek. That is the true blessing.

Last night I was watching the Teen Choice Awards. Things haven’t changed much since the sixties, except that it’s all now just been branded.

This morning the Lord told me not to interpret my age in the context of contemporary culture. My age says I am out of date, unable to connect, irrelevant. Hollywood will not accept me as a relevant producer. God’s word says different…

A grey head is a crown of glory; it is found in the way of righteousness. Proverbs 16:31

So I must train my mind to not see myself in the negative, even though Hollywood does discriminate. But God… He does not conform to culture, and He does not expect us to, either. He is the grand exception to the world system. That is one way our faith comes into play. We must believe that we, too are the grand exemption. But the exemption only happens when we are standing, thinking, doing by faith.

So too, do not allow yourself to “think” that your faith makes you irrelevant to the people. The irony is, it does in fact make you irrelevant to the culture, but your are not irrelevant to people; you are actually more relevant.

Do not play the voices of other people in my head, what I think they are saying about me… they wag on and on about my weaknesses and faults. Or they complement me in my carnal vanities, reinforcing my fallen nature. Either way, they separate me from what God thinks about me. And, God thinks I am wonderful. Train your mind on His word, what He says. For example, as lost and fallen, apart from his blood, He loved me enough to die for me. As a believer, under His blood, God sees me perfect, righteous and actually “unfallen”. God has made me a joint heir with his son Jesus Christ. I am entitled to everything He has given Jesus. I am now a child of the King.

I really should “think” that way.

And that’s the way I like it.

Because God’s ways are above our ways, we can never fully understand our journey. We do not see the big picture. We cannot be in control of our life because we do not see it as He does. Therefore, we deceive ourselves if we think we can figure His will and then go do it.

Trying to understand is a natural instinct, but only creates uncertainty and anxiety because results do not match up to expectations. The things of God are spiritually appraised. If we truly believe He loves us as a loving father, then we can trust Him to work out the big picture and give us wisdom for the many little things. With this kind of faith, we will do His will not fully knowing we are. Just love Him, pray and ask for guidance.

But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. 1 Cor 2:14

Don’t wonder if God is going to do something good in your future, expect it to be so. Have conviction about the future.

Faith is… the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

The Princeton dictionary defines conviction as an unshakable belief in something without need for proof or evidence. The opposite of conviction is… doubt and uncertainty.

For this to work you must have the expectation that God brings good into your life.

For he who comes to God must believe that… he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Hebrew 11:6

And of course, it all starts with believing in Him. So what is the result of believing this way?

…and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Phillipians 4:7

We live in a false reality.

It’s our emotional outlook; the product of wounds and pleasures, mixed in a alchemy of dreams and imaginations. It makes for one strange reality. It is developed over years, and none can escape without help from God.

We interpret circumstances to reinforce that outlook, and deny interpretations that run contrary to it. The challenge is to not be conformed to this outlook, but to God’s Word and what we ‘think’ it says about us. But even this must go through our flawed emotional outlook, and it can get warped. We must have the working of the Holy Spirit to help us through. Over time we resolve to a more perfect solution. And this will be love. Freedom to love others as they are, freedom to love yourself as you are. And most importantly, understanding how great Father God’s love is for us, just as we are.

The song Orange Sky by Alexi Murdoch reflects this strange reality .

I think this song reflects the journey of the older brother of the Prodigal Son, as he returns back home. He has learned the profound truth, in your love, my salvation lies.

More on Alexi Murdoch here…