Am I Too Timid in My Expectations of God?

The question for me was not if I believed in God, but how I believed in God. Asking do I truly know and trust God? Am I living my life in Christ or am I living with a foot in the knowledge of all God can do while still not letting go of living my life my way and in my strength? If this sounds in any way familiar, please join us for today's podcast where with a faith like a grain of a mustard seed, we can expect that nothing will be impossible for us!

Please feel free to comment, correspondance can be sent to jackie1652@yahoo.com
Upcoming episodes can also be found directly at https://roughplacesintolevelground.buzzsprout.com

Transcript

Am I too Timid in My Expectations of God? 

As I read various scriptures throughout the week, they all began speaking to the same theme, which was not if I believe in God but how I believe in God. Do I truly know and trust God? Am I living my life in Christ or am I living with a foot in the knowledge of all God can and does do while still not letting go of living my life my way and in my strength?

It is not the size of our faith but its quality. I wonder if our heads can get so full of theology and biblical knowledge that it leads us to think we have a great faith, only to find ourselves shaken when our worlds become dumped upside down and we find ourselves deeply afflicted.

In Mt. 17:20, Jesus says to the disciples, “For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” So, it is not the amount of faith, and all we think we know of God but the strength of our faith, even if it is as small as a grain of a mustard seed. We may be in a place in our lives where our faith is small, or circumstance has our faith wavering, but if in our moment of calling out to God even with a faith as small as a mustard seed, if we are giving God all our struggle and trust, faith the size of a mustard seed will be enough. If our faith is pure and focused on God, He can move mountains and work in our lives to do all we cannot. 

As we read Jeremiah 10:23 the scripture tells us, “I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.”  In Proverbs 16:9, we learn that while we can plan our way it is God who establishes our steps. So again, I ask myself am I, are we, struggling because we are not walking in Christ but in the pride of our own efforts and knowing? Are we focusing entirely on God and not ourselves and trusting in Him alone?

In Colossians 1:16-17 we read, For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities- all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

Do we truly get it that we are held together in Christ, that our lives are in Him? Is the quality of our belief such that we live our lives through and in Christ? Am I living life, trusting totally in His strength, comfort, compassion, care, correction, and guidance? Am I believing that God who knows all that has and will be can direct my steps over, around or through any obstacle I may face? Is Christ my all, and do I surrender my life to Him, look to Him for all I do, and am? Do I look to, call out to, and seek the creator and sustainer of all, first and foremost, every day of my life?

One of the hardest things for me during affliction is to feel as if I am alone, and finding myself to be fearful, discouraged, doubtful and full of worry. And what is God’s answer to any of us who may feel this way. In Deuteronomy 31:8 He tells us, “It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be discouraged.”  In Isaiah 41:10 God tells us, “Fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

At times I, as possibly you, are confronted with symptoms of our disbelief, and weakened faith. We may find ourselves being timid in our expectations of the all-powerful, all knowing and sovereign God. It is not our God that cannot move mountains for us, but it is the quality of our faith in our God, which causes our timidity, fear, worry, doubt, and discouragement.

In Mark 6:1-6 we are told that where people did not believe in Him, He was limited in what He could do in their lives. In vv.5-6 we are told, “And He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He marveled because of their unbelief.”

As I wrapped up study this week, I was truly challenged to relook at the depth of my faith and its focus. Realizing that I am not in control of my path, God is. When I am out of step it is because I am looking to my own strength and knowledge to direct me. Do I believe that I would be ok if only my circumstances would change, instead of knowing that when I am living with and through Jesus, I can be ok in any circumstance. 

Let me leave today’s podcast by sharing this thought with you. Sometimes God does calm our storms and sometimes He does bring cures for illness, and remission for the cancer. But sometimes the storms remain and instead God calms us and replaces our fears and doubts with a sense of peace and deeper trust.

So how do we increase and strengthen the quality of our faith? We pray. We talk to the God who wants to work all for our good, who will always be with us, and will not forsake us, the God who tells us do not be afraid or dismayed. We pray to the God who orders our steps. We pray not to be timid in our expectations, trust, and belief that He can move the mountain before us or give us all we need to climb the mountain that will not move.

Oswalt Chambers wrote, “We pray when there is nothing else, we can do, but God wants us to pray before we do anything at all.”

As we close, please join me in prayer. Father, we give thanks for your word that works in our lives. Your word that teaches, comforts, and guides us in every circumstance. Father help our unbelief and give us faith like a grain of a mustard seed. Let us face our lives not in timidity but in your strength in us. Help us turn and give our lives completely to you, that you may fill us, calm us and bring us to rest and trust totally in you. In Jesus name we pray.

Thanks for listening and until next time, Praise God and God Bless.