BEING FOUND FAITH-FULL

I came across a list of principles for living in my study Bible this week and my heart kept being drawn to one of them - Be faithful. I have been thinking about this all week. When I think of the word 'faithful' I think about loyalty. And while I do believe God desires and deserves our loyalty, my heart kept pondering that faithfulness in this context is something different.

What if God desires us to be faith-full - as in full of faith? The word faith in its simplest form means to believe God or to trust God. So an important principle for living is being found FULL OF trust and belief!

So the question becomes - how do I fill my cup? How do I trust Him more and believe that He is and can do all that the Bible says He can do? It comes from a relationship. We are created for relationship. God desires more than anything else for us to spend time with Him. To think about Him. To talk to Him. To enjoy Him. To worship Him. To love Him.

The only way I have found to trust and believe in anything or anyone has been the test of time. There is no substitute for history with people. You know who you can trust by your history with them. By the way they conduct their business, their pleasure and their family. God has recorded His history in His word - and you better believe, it is good and bad and ugly!! He doesn't try to cover up or airbrush a thing!

So being faith-filled comes from a relationship with Him. By sticking with Him through all the trials and wonders because He is worthy. But the benefits to you and me are much greater.

If we lived faith-full lives, we will have peace in trial. Joy in times of sorrow. Calm in calamity. Gentleness in times of harshness. Love instead of hate. Most importantly, we have HOPE. This is not all there is. This world, this body, this life, this relationship......we have a hope that defies the consumerism and commercialism that this world tries to sell us. IT - whatever IT is - will never happen here. But IT is coming! And when we fix our eyes and our hope on that "IT" - the coming Christ, Our King of Kings, an eternal Jerusalem, the redemption of our bodies - we are full of faith.

Colossians 1 says to "set our minds on things above." He is talking about heaven. Set your mind there. Set your hope there. You will become full. Full of a faith/belief/trust that will hold you until that day arrives.

A word of warning: we are leaky vessels. We will have to return to the fountain that never runs dry for refilling. He made us that way. Not to punish us or to remind us of our fallibility. He did it so we would come to Him regularly because He loves us and desires us. So if you can't find me in the days to come, I am probably at the Fountain of Living Water getting my daily fill-up. Hope to see you there!