Continual, Consistent, and Communicative

The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd. (Hebrews 11:1)

If something is 'fundamental', it is an essential part - the foundation upon which everything else is built - underlying anything else in our lives. If the foundation of our lives is to be our 'trust in God' then how are we doing on keeping that foundation firm and without any breeches? If we want to see things of great 'value' and 'worth' built into our lives, it all begins with this fundamental trust in God. We cannot build upon a 'half-trust' - it must be continual, consistent, and communicative trust.

Continual faith means we don't allow any interruption in this foundation. I have a few cracks in the foundation of my home - they were apparent when I changed the carpeting. This is 'normal' with the settling of homes over the years, but too big of a gap could indicate greater problems exist that could end up costing me much over the years. If the gap gets too big, the home can even become 'unstable' and it would be deemed unsafe to reside in. The same is true in our 'faith life' - allow small 'cracks' to go unchecked and you may eventually allow a huge fissure that makes your life very unstable.

Consistent faith requires us to understand and adhere to the same principles or course day after day. We don't waver, creating opportunity for compromise. Consistent faith means there is a 'coherency' between what we say and do - something we frequently struggle to develop in our lives. How many times have we said one thing, then gone off and done exactly the opposite? If you are like me, those times are too innumerable to count. Trust in God doesn't leave scripture 'open to interpretation' in our lives - God says it, we are to believe it, act upon it, and trust in it.

Communicative trust is something I will liken to having a good conversation with your best friend. God needs to hear our heart's concerns and then have the freedom to show us what we may not always want to hear. This isn't God 'schooling' us, making us feel 'bad' about some 'cracks' in our foundation, but rather ensuring we allow repairs before they get any bigger. I don't talk to my BFF 'hoping' she will hear me - I know she is listening! Why would I approach God any differently? I share my heart - he hears me - then he answers in the most loving way he can. Sometimes love guides us into places of correction, but that only builds up our faith. Just sayin!