Grace Notes: Faith

Faith can be variously described as having trust and confidence, a belief system, way of life, hopeful outlook or even blind optimism. 

It may seem such a nebulous, insubstantial, indefinable thing and then morph into the strongest element in our lives.

 Relationships usually require us to take a leap of faith in trusting our fragile hearts and hopes into another person's hands.

Biblical faith has an extra dimension.

 We place our faith in Someone who can be known (through His word and by experience) yet remains hidden from plain sight. How do we discover Him in the everyday?

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" ~ Hebrews 11:1

In essence, it could be summed up in the acronym:

For  All  I  Trust  Him

Our faith doesn't rest in our understanding or capabilities but in God's all-encompassing, unconditional love, His ability to keep us safe, be true to His word, to rescue, redeem, restore, deliver and heal us

In the reflection below I am attempting to put the expression of the Inexpressible into words

To see with the eyes of faith is:

To see the Supernatural in the natural 
and the Extraordinary in the ordinary

A bleak, barren, frost-gripped, ice-hard landscape
will bring forth

 fresh green shoots once more.

Natural eye cannot perceive
 activity 'neath 
rock-stiffened soil
 and breath-frozen air -

Yet it is there.

Bridal froth of cherry pink and white blossom 

blooms abundantly in its season.

Silently sown by grace

Expectantly viewed 

and received by faith
looked on with joy.

Faith is a gift that enables us to believe

in and for the impossible, imperceivable, unknowing

Once eyes of hearts are open

we see glimmers, mere twinkling suggestions

of what lies beneath our sight

and beyond comprehension.
The Unknowing 
becoming known
through a babe, man, 
Word become flesh.

Holding our flesh-babes 
in arms, hearts and lives 
we see them moving, 
walking, talking, living,

 vital, functioning beings

even as they lie dormant,
dependent, helpless.

Cradled warm in our embrace

the call to grow is

changing them -
Like fresh green shoots
appearing on a vine.
Like skin-stretched hopes
breaking forth
to make reality 
from dreams.

We are all

so vibrantly alive

with potential

that only God

can fully see.

Faith-walking can feel like a long, arduous climb up a very steep hill or a continual circuit around the base of a mountain - will we ever get to the top or find a new direction to go in?

The walking by faith and not by sight part can feel like being in a long dark tunnel with maybe a tiny pinprick of light up ahead to see the way out.

Human eyes and heart would give up hope. But as God equips us with His way of seeing - Spiritual eyes and heart - can 'see' the final outcome and thank God for it even before it happens

I'm continually working on that one and discovering the more I let go of fear (the opposite of faith) and trust God for the outcomes, the more faith rises in my heart with each experience.

"God is doing far more behind your back than in front of your eyes" ~ Paul Scanlon

God's word reminds us of where our focus should be:

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal"   

~ 2 Corinthians 4:16 - 18 (emphasis added)

We long for what we sense - hear, feel, touch, taste and see.

God longs to produce Christ-likeness in and through us - no matter what that may take.

Pause to ponder:

How are you exercising faith?

What helps or hinders its growth?

In this post I am linking up with Missional Women Faith filled Fridays

If you would like to read more on the Grace Note series or other writing, do stay in touch.

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