Faith
“Faith” … def.: 1.”The complete trust or confidence in someone or something.” If we never learn anything else before we die, we need to learn this: Don’t place your faith in things or people ; they will let you down. I’ve tested a few things over the years and I’ve found some of em couldn’t handle me. As a kid, you made your own fun. You didn’t have an iPhone or Xbox, so you created your own excitement. I’d climb slender trees as far up as i could go, let go with my legs and “ride” the tree all the way to the ground. I had faith that the trunk wouldn’t snap before getting me safely back on my feet. I’d swim way out off the beach when on vacation…sometimes on a raft, but you can’t see the bottom on a raft, so I’d abandon it and swim down…and down…until i could touch bottom…for my own satisfaction. I had faith that a shark wasn’t gonna eat me and I’d find my raft once i got back to the surface. I had faith in total strangers that put up the fair rides…confident that I’d finish the thrill-ride the same way i started it…unscathed. I’d cross logs that fell across the creek, trusting that they would hold my weight…swing on vines that wove their tendrils amongst the high up limbs, ramp scrap pieces of boards on my bike, get “lost” on purpose in the woods just so i could find my way out, explore abandoned buildings where the homeless hobos lived, jump on and ride the occasional slower-moving trains, … and i realized something when i got older … my “faith” was in “me” and “my” abilities. I trusted in my ability to lie good enough so i wouldn’t get a whoopin … steal like a common thief and not get caught … take dangerous chances just for the thrill of it … and all the time, I’d be asked…” What were you thinking ?!”…”Why did you do that?!” … and my answer was always the same … “I don’t know.” Most of the time, i didn’t have a good reason…i just did it because it was something to do…something that was exciting and got my adrenaline pumpin. It wasn’t scary to me… it was exciting…and i did all of it for my own enjoyment…my own benefit … and hey…if someone was watchin, that was for me, too … a reason to show out. It took me a long time to realize, my mortality ( the state of being subject to death ), wasn’t something to be taken so lightly…and as mama always said, “Stupid is, as stupid does.”( Forrest Gump ). I trusted in “my” abilities until the “vine broke”, the “ramp failed” and the “undertow liked t’ve got me”. Taking chances and trusting in “self” will hurt you … and sometimes, it may “kill” you. Our mamas had us, but God created us in their wombs ( Psalm 139:13 ). He designed us just like he wanted us, for a purpose ( Colossians 1:16 ). He sees our every move, hears our every thought, even before we think em ( Psalm 139:2-4 ). Until we understand this fact, we’ll continue believing that it’s “all about us” … when it AINT ! Accomplishments and successes can be deceiving … they can give us the illusion that “we” are “it”…that people oughta be pattin us on the back and wantin our autograph … and ’fore you know it, “pride” sets up shop and begins to create a monster. We form great opinions about ourselves and trust in our own abilities over our Creator’s. Next thing you know, He’s deciding how to bring us back to reality … how to “humble” us, so that we’re reminded of who it is that we ultimately answer to. God never created us to serve our own desires and live to please ourselves. If he gives a special gift, he expects us to thank him for it and then use it for his glory. If he decides to give us a talent, he expects us to invest it in his kingdom’s work and honor him with the results ( Matthew 25:14-30 ). If he supplies extra, he expects us to distribute it amongst those who have less ( 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 ). It’s his way of meeting his people’s needs and proving once again that He can be trusted … and, it lets us be a part of the process ! Win-Win for everybody involved ! Understanding that it’s God who’s created us…God, who wills and acts in accordance with His own purposes ( Philippians 2:13 ), in us and through us…God, who lets us choose wisely, but when we don’t, knows how to administer correction ( Hebrews 12:6 ) and discipline … because that’s the loving Father that He is, is the beginning of wisdom. If we’d “get it”, sooner than later, can you imagine the impact He could make in this world !? Our faith…complete trust and confidence, ought never to lie in a “noun”…a ( human being ) person, place or thing … but only in GOD. Period. “ You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not worship anything or anyone else, besides me. Don’t misuse my name and remember my Sabbath and keep it holy, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sins of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those that hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.” ( Exodus 20:3-8 )