"JUST HAVE FAITH"

Has anyone ever said this to you? “Just have faith.” Well, it has been said to me many times and I confess I have said it to others also. I posted about a wonderful book in the comments of a dear friend’s blog today, and I just felt that maybe I should share this with all of you.

I have faith in God. I believe in God. I trust Jesus, and have accepted Him as my personal Savior and Redeemer. I believe God is who He says He is, and I believe He has my life in His hands. I believe I will live with Him in Heaven one day. But, all this being said…it is sometimes hard to have faith. There I said it. It is not always easy for me to remember all the things I know and believe. But, having faith is not about the way I feel. It is a matter of trusting God to do what He says He will do…regardless of how I feel. It is choosing to believe God’s promises over my personal feelings.

I recommended this book to my friend, and I would like for you to know about it as well. This is one of those life changing books…and I consider it to be one of the most important books in my Christian life. Now, there is nothing controversial in it at all. It will not challenge what you believe. Nor will it cause you to doubt your convictions. But, it will help you to realize that His Word is truer than anything we may be feeling at the moment.

The book is titled FAITH IS NOT A FEELING. Sub-titled: Choosing To Take God At His Word. The author is Ney Bailey. It is published by Waterbrook Press, a division of Random House…copywright 2002. I purchased my copy from Lifeway Bookstore several years ago. I have not seen it there in a while, but I do know they will order it for you. It is available on Amazon.com for $13.99…I just checked. If you put the title and author in the search bar at the top on Amazon, it will take you right to it.

I have personally dealt with many things in my life where the outcome has looked bleak and trusting was not always easy. One of the things I pray for is that my faith will remain strong. I never want to doubt what I believe. And I know satan would like nothing better. A Christian song that I can not remember title or author has some words in it that resonate with me often.”…give us faith to be strong and strength to be faithful…”. We are fighting a battle with the enemy daily, and I want my faith to be strong and unwavering. This book has helped me to see that it can be…even if I don’t feel like it is. Let’s be real, friends, we would all like for others to think we have that most perfect relationship with God that never doubts or never gets hard. We would like others to think we can quote the Bible verse for verse and always be able to recall a verse to go with each situation. Well, I am here to say to you…I can’t. It is hard for me sometimes. And there are times I can only recall the feeling of a verse and a few words of it. I know I am a sinner saved by the grace of God, but my walk with Him is not perfect…and at times, I falter. But, I know He loves me and is ready to help me be the person He created me to be.

I think you will enjoy reading this book. It starts off with a disaster the author went through, and goes on to explain what I feel are great truths. If you choose to read this, please let me know what you think. God bless you.