"We say things like, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me," and "Trust in the Lord with all your heart." Then we live and plan like we don't believe God even exists. We try to set our lives up so everything will be fine even if God doesn't come through. But true faith means holding nothing back. It means putting every hope in God's fidelity to His promises." - Francis Chan

Do you and I truly know what it means to walk by faith? Do we really know what it looks like? Do we live by faith?

I'm seeing a trend in my life that seeking the painless, comfortable, safe route has actually distanced me from a foundational trust in God to come through. I can see evidences of this in the way it's common to pray for safety. I still think it is a great idea to pray for safety and trust that God will protect us. However, our hearts can easily become dependent on safety being the only good outcome for where we go and what we do. If we believe safety is priority number one on a trip or in an activity, and something goes wrong, we may miss what God is up to. Instead of praying for safety, maybe we should pray that through this trip or activity we will see more of God and grow more in love with him.

If we believe that the best possible life is about safety, comfort, and having plenty we have forgotten the words of Christ. "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and thieves break in and steal." (Matt. 6:19) Or "All men will hate you because of me." (Matt. 10:22) Or "So the last will be first, and the first will be last." (Matt 20:16) And "Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." (Matt. 10:39)

Jesus is saying that if you seek after him then possessions, popularity, position, and life itself will become second best. He isn't asking you to seek a life of misery, for what He gives in return is far better then all of the above. We seek to have plenty of possessions, to have the good opinion of others, and to gain a position of respect and we are on the path to losing life not gaining it. It is only when we let go, release, and abandon the ideology of this world in exchange for the life that Christ has that we began to truly live a life of faith.

Walking by faith says God will come through. He'll come through when we give all our possessions to the poor. He'll come through when we give up a high profile position to serve the lowly. He'll come through when we let go of retirement plans and live for Him today. He'll come through when we love those who hate us. He'll come through when we follow him despite the danger. He'll come through when we let go of our wants, dreams, plans, and life for His sake.

When we walk by faith we acknowledge that God has saved us and will never let us go. He has given us freedom and we can never be captured. He has given us life and will sustain each moment of each day in each situation for our good and His glory!

- Josh