Ladies on a Journey

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Practical Thinking vs. Faith Living



This morning the Journey ladies met and discussed Chapter One. Everyone present felt like this chapter was exactly what they needed. Here are a few things that were discussed:

-significance- Sometimes we find ourselves feeling like what we do in life is of no significance. But the author encourages us to realize that living in faith begins in the little things. We can not be so set on the big, glorious wishes in our life that we miss out on the faithfulness of the little things. We are to be faithful in everyday responsibilities and God will then entrust us in the larger.

-practical vs. faithful- Here is the thought? Do you find yourself being practical with your life? Does everthing have to be orderly and make sense? And in that, do you miss out on living in faith? Can we do both?

Let's here your thoughts.

posted by Carolyn @ 9:08 AM  

9 Comments:

  • At January 25, 2007 3:21 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Does anyone else get this picture?
    -Gertrude

     

  • At January 25, 2007 3:53 PM, Blogger Carolyn said…

    I wonder who Gertrude is? I wonder if it is a male we know with the middle name of Gayle? Stay off our sight Gertrude!!!

     

  • At January 25, 2007 5:45 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I think the picture is representing us, coming to the Lord and releasing something that is very dear to us (as a balloon is to a child).

    The rest of the thoughts I will post later.

     

  • At January 25, 2007 9:35 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    My hope is that we can be honest here, even though we are not sitting face to face. Walking in faith is not an easy task. The first scripture (at the end of chapter one) points to Job, so let me start there.

    Scene: Conversation between God and Satan.

    Satan: enters stage left.

    God: Where have you been?

    Satan: Off, here and there. Around (pulling softly on his long pointy beard)

    God: Well did you encounter my servant, Job? He is 100 percent mine! He is the the most faithful of all my followers.

    Satan: (grunts and enjoys a good hearty laugh) Of course he is. Look at all he has! You have spoiled him with great riches. He land, family, and all his livestock are said to be among the best! No doubting he is faithful to a God who showers him and protects him.

    God: No, I'm certain that he loves me because of my character, because of who I am, not because of what he has.

    Satan: Uh-huh! Whatever you think...after all you are God. You could test his faith, just to be sure you know the truth of his spirit.

    God: (shakes His head, begins to question, and silently allows Satan to "bate" Him).

    Satan: What would happen if all his riches went away, would he sing your praises then?

    God: Surely he would remain faithful. You want to see? I will take my protection from him, allow you to destroy him and those he loves, ruin him, and turn him into a mockery for all to see.

    Satan: Gladly I will fulfill this wish! I will take away everything he owns and loves so that you may know his true spirit.

    God: Fine, I will show no mercy to my faithful servant, except that I will not allow you to take his life.

    Satan: Turns to go, alittle pep in his step and a quiet chuckle in his breast. (Moves quickly before God changes his mind, his thoughts raging wildly). Who would want to serve a God that strips a man of all he loves just to prove his servant loyal. What kind of God would join in Satan's schemes and allow innocent children to be killed, all in search of proof, of faith?

    The tricks Satan plays begins here, in the first scripture verse. Job 1:6. I try in my spiritual journey to stay away from two books of the Bible...Revelations (can we say depressing)and Job. The God I know, who loves me and protects me wouldn't just succumb to Satan's scheme. He wouldn't hurt innocent children...would he? Could any of us stand this type of cruelty? I know that the actual act against Job comes from Satan, but God allowed it by withdrawing his protection from Job. Is this how you treat those that love you? When God repayed to Job all that was lost did God think that would replace his feelings for those he loved (the ones caught in the crossfire--the children). So this is faith right? Blindly giving your all to Him, hoping that he has our best in mind.

    Does anyone else seem alittle confused by "walking in faith?" On the front cover of the book she writes, "Trusting God Takes You to Amazing Places." What about Job?

    I did however enjoy reading the first chapter. I related with her everyday mundane stresses...as I sure every mother does. My prayer is that God will use my faith, no matter how big or small, justly!

    Sorry Carolyn for "being real" about my feeling about faith. Please let me know what your feelings are regarding Job, maybe I've missed the whole picture!

     

  • At January 26, 2007 8:53 AM, Blogger Carolyn said…

    OK Angela. You have caused me to get out of my comfort zone and go deeper than I usually will tread. Maybe this website will cause others to do the same.

    First off, I am glad you are seeing the reality of Satan in our lives. I think when we in our self-made, americanized-thinking lives start to see the spiritual battle at hand then we can experience "walking by faith".

    As for Job, this is not the only time God allowed innocent children to be hurt. What about the first borns that were killed after Jesus was born. Or the children of Egypt that were killed because there wasn't the blood of the lamb on the door frames of their houses. And there are people today in the Middle East that are being persecuted for their faith in Jesus. We don't have to think about things like this very often.

    And that is exactly the point. We are spoiled-rotten citizens that live in a protected, rich society. And that makes it hard to really, really 'live by faith'. We instead can depend on our government to protect us from our rights. And we have our families that we deeply love that in a way have taught us to focus on ourselves and our own well being. For us, It is easy to surrender your life to Christ. There is not much I had to give up to live for Jesus. Growing up my family doted over me. I got just about everything I ever wanted. And because they loved me they made sure I was fed and protected. They kept me from people who would hurt me. They went to church. They loved Jesus. But the hardest thing in their life was being a family(bills, family relations, etc.) not having to stand up for their faith or lose their lives.

    What if life for you meant being opposed in every direction to not 'walk by faith' and not live your life in way that you firmly believed that the Lord called you to. Would your faith in God be stronger than the love for your loved ones that you might lose in the matter? When looking at the big picture, our loved ones did not create us. Our loved ones we did not create. Our loved ones are merely a gift from the Lord. Walking by faith is not hard for us to do in our day in age. But I hope and pray that if it came down to losing the ones we loved because of our faith that we would realize ahead of time that God, and God alone, is the only thing or being that can 'replace the feeling for those we love'. That is why he is God. And that is the mystery of God. Romans 8:28

    Thinking on all of this makes me think that maybe our battle with Satan is as big as Job's and we don't even realize it. That is because now we live in a way that our family, our children, our schedules, our rights are more important than the one who created us. And because of our involvemetn in those things I just listed we can't even see the battle!

    I pray that we can be taught on this side of tragedy that we realize that our life is not our own. Our children's life is not our own. That we are God's alone to do his will so all glory will be His. It is in God's glory that we receive the blessings. God receives the glory in the story of Job-not Satan. God really is in control. HIs love is inexplainable and He draws us to Him when we surrender ourselves to Him. May we surrender, may we 'walk in faith'!

     

  • At January 26, 2007 9:24 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    whoa, you two pretty much summed up all of life right here from a to z. on a light note, i like the picture no matter what gertrude gayle thinks and angela i agree with you. that's a pretty cool analogy. at first, i just liked the picture. now, to me, it represents what you said.

    thanks for the commentary from both you and carolyn. you both are digging really deeper than i even want to today...

    over a little time span in my life, i've begun to be amazed more and more at God for who He is, not what he does, what he gives, etc. i have not "arrived" there fully nor do i think we are even capable of that but i do hope and pray that i will stand firm no matter what in my faith in god.

    by the way, a couple of years ago i read the book safely home by randy alcorn and it made me really search out what "suffering" really is. i highly recommend it for all american believers. it's a novel and a great read. i think jeff has it and it would challenge anyone to walk in a little deeper water than we're used to treading.

    kristy

     

  • At January 27, 2007 12:04 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Ok, Angela...thank you for speaking my mind for me. Several times in doing bible reading I am forced to read through Job and I hate it...for the very reasons that you listed. I can't understand God's position in that whole thing...but at the same time, I guess, who am I to question. I probably wouldn't understand anyway!

    Carolyn, I totally agree with how spoiled we are. Last night I made the kids sit down with me and watch 20/20. It was about kids in Camden, NJ..the poorest city in America. One little boy is only eating one time a day, a teenager is trying to graduate from high school while trying to work to help feed the rest of the family, a little girl is living with an alcoholic father, a resentful mother, gun battles, drugs..etc..etc..etc and here we sit with food in the pantry, a warm bed to sleep in every night and crying because we, or the kids, can't have something they want but don't need. I love all of the charities there are for the less fortunate around the world but I am heartbroken that in the most abundant country in the world we tend to ignore our own backyard. I'm not saying that we shouldn't help everyone else but what about our own. I'm just as quilty as the next but I want my children to know how very blessed we are and maybe develope a heart for helping those less fortunate. Talk about walking in faith....

     

  • At January 27, 2007 12:05 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    The earlier message was from me...Brandi W.

     

  • At January 27, 2007 5:49 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Having faith is so much more than our immediate happiness. Only God sees the big picture and we have to trust that only He knows best. We are all probably at different points in our spiritual walk, but faith is such an important part of growing and maturing as a christian. Can we say we believe in Jesus but he can only have that parts of us that won't get hurt? I believe we should be willing to give it all to God. No matter the cost. Recently I went through a very rough time with my family because I was stepping out on faith. What I was doing didn't make sense to them, and therefore, I must have been losing my mind and sacrificing my family! I remember feeling so alone and hurt. I felt like I was losing my family. But I was so certain that I was doing what God wanted, which meant members of my family not speaking to me. As much as it hurt, I knew that God saw the bigger picture and now, thankfully, things are great again with my family. In the end, I believe that they have seen first hand how God has provided for Ryan, the kids, and me. They know we are doing what we are supposed to be doing. And most of all God is getting the glory!
    I know talking about faith is so out of our comfort zones, and I don't want to sound like it's always easy for me. But I've experienced many times where I can look back and see what God was up to. It is truly an amazing journey!!!!

     

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