Faith Exercise #2

 Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance. (Titus 2:2)

 

          Remember my long, trite, and thoroughly selfish list of thing I can and should have faith in, for, about, whatever? After sharing it, I started considering how to organize it. Godward, otherward, and selfward was my first thought, but it wasn’t really a help. I think it’s a good direction to head, but I’m not to where that would be useful. I must crawl before I walk, walk before I jog, and jog before I run marathons. On my walk this morning, I settled on a different structure: who I am, what I do, and my circumstances.

          The other thing I want to keep in mind is that the goal of this exercise is faith. I want to learn to recognize, develop, use (or is it have?) faith, and understand it better. I want to become more “sound in faith.” Part of this suggests to me that it as I narrow the focus – or effectively set faith goals – there has to be action on my part. If nothing else, I need to change my attitude from passive to active and conscious. Faith has consequences. If one is to exercise faith, it can’t be some wandering, general faith, but about something specific.

          What all of the above tells me that this is about setting goals that involve faith. It also tells me that my list was useful not for the trite items on it. It was useful because it led me in the direction of my real needs, the places where I really need to exercise faith.

Who God is

Who I am

What I do

My circumstances (What I do or do not have.)

          Another way of looking at it is to say that I’m going back to some basic promises.

 

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11)

 

for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. (Philippians 2:13)

 

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who^[ have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)  OK, all of Romans 8.

 

 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.  (James 1:2-5)

 

          I suspect the key is that I’m supposed to actually focus on these things instead of on my circumstances. That takes paying attention. That takes time and energy, but the point of developing faith is that one doesn’t just float along.