Faith is deliberate

 Oswald Chambers reminds us, "Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God whose ways you may not understand at the time." Do we always understand God's ways? I daresay we might think we have a handle on them at times, but then something comes our way, and there we go wondering if we know his ways at all! Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take." The more we don't understand what is happening, the more we need to lean into Jesus and allow him to sort out those things that we must trust the character of our faithful God with as we go through them.

Chambers also told us, "When it is a question of God's almighty Spirit, never say, 'I can't'." The truth is, we probably can't, but God can. We must never doubt his Spirit's direction, no matter how frightful it may seem to us to take the steps he is guiding us to take. Yes, we will be challenged in our faith. We will inevitably face things we are doubtful are God's will for us. When we face those things, we must take them to his feet, seek his wisdom, then act upon what we know to be true about his character. We may not always understand what he is doing, but we can trust that he will never put stumbling blocks in our path - he actually works to clear the path we are to take!

We don't always have the knowledge, but we have the resources at our disposal to obtain it. We have his Spirit - ask for his leading when things seem unclear. We have his Word - principled teaching that will guide us in the basic knowledge of who God is, how he acts, what he desires of his children, and how we should trust him. We have prayer - allowing us to unfold our day's worries and night's anxieties before him, leaving them in his care, allowing our hearts to be unburdened of those things we need not carry inside. We have each other - fellow believers who can encourage us, help us see things in ways we would not see on our own. 

Faith if deliberate - not accidental. Trust is purposeful - not haphazard. Whose character are you trusting in today? Yours, some leader in high places, a trusted friend, or Jesus? I choose the latter because all those other options are just not as trustworthy as he is! Just sayin!