"All it takes is faith and trust..."

If only Peter Pan's words were as simple as they seem! Plus everyone could use a little pixie dust right?

Faith is defined as "complete trust or confidence in someone or something." I love that. Complete trust. { Turns out Peter Pan's phrase is a little redundant.☺}

2012 for me has been the year of learning about faith. The previous post is testimony of that.  It is a topic I never really sat down to study, but what is so funny about faith is that's just it, you don't have to study it to have it. I think of many children who I've met or heard about who "simply believe."

Recently my prayer has become "that I might have the simple faith of a child." Luke 18:17 says, "Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it."

Wow. Let me receive it like a child! I think about how as a little girl, if my dad had told me the sky was green and the grass blue, no one would have been able to convince me otherwise.

Where have we lost our faith in our heavenly Daddy?  We somehow lost much of our "complete trust and confidence" in the Lord. Whether it have been through one big loss or many little let downs, we have allowed our experiences and personal feelings interfere with our view of our heavenly Daddy.

The enemy's plan as we age is to use our life experiences to impose qualities on God that are not him. We allow the enemy to highlight everything negative about an experience and come out seeing God as unloving, unkind, quick to anger, judgmental, unfaithful, deceptive, hateful, and even one who turns his back on us. How far from the character of God!!!

Can you imagine how heart broken the Lord must feel when we look up at him, shaking our fist, yelling out such false accusations! I cannot imagine the pain of having the one you love most accuse you of not loving them or betraying them, and fully believing it. And yet that is how we make our heavenly Daddy feel far too often.

I had a recent conversation via Instagram with a couple people about faith. One man wrote the following:
 "Sometimes I get overwhelmed trying to imagine what life would look like if I could just trust God...it would be incredible. Unfortunately, I keep getting in my own way."

"It would be incredible" !!!!!!!!! IT TOTALLY WOULD! And thats where your faith is tested. You stand on the edge of this huge cliff knowing security, comfort, and familiarity are only one step back, but in front of you expands the land of crazy adventures and life-changing experiences. You have one choice. Will you say yes to the Lord and jump away from comforts and what you know to pursue "what is best"(Luke 10:42)?

I wish I could tell you it is easy peasy because I've done it! But I can't, because I still stand on that edge, knowing that with all my heart I want to take that LEAP OF FAITH, but my flesh and my heart long for the creature comforts of what is easy and known to me.

But that is when the Word of the Lord rings true, "The heart is deceitful above all things" (Jer.17:9). It is those moments of doubt and unbelief that we must put aside what we feel and listen with our spirit, what is it the Lord is calling me to? FAITH.

Many of us, myself included, stand on the cusp of this edge, having to choose between faith and fear.

But just as you think about turning back, the Lord comes up beside you, taking hold of your hand, and says:

"For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you,

 'Don't be afraid. I am here to help you.'"

(Isaiah 41:13)

"All it takes is faith and trust..."but we don't need any pixie dust. :) 

The King of the Universe is holding our hand instead. 

And when we take that leap in faith of our God and his perfect character, we will see that incredible life we have been promised if we simply believe.