Exercise part 2
Let me get my memory verse for today out: "For we walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7). A pretty popular verse. Probably right up there with John 3:16, right? But here's what I want to say about it, "You can't walk by faith without... you know... walking." Putting one foot in front of the other. Moving forward. That, as Rocky Balboa once said, is how winning is done. Its not about how hard you can hit. Its about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. Because life will throw a lot at you. Try to manipulate and control you. Try to knock you down. That's just life, man. So you can either give up... or you can man up. You can either... let me quote another verse. "That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive" (Ephesians 4:14). We can either be deceived, believe the lie, get blown every which way and get all twisted up... or we can stand on the Rock. We can be still and know that HE is God. Know that LOVE is God. And being still doesn't necessarily mean not doing anything. You can be still while you're walking by faith. In fact, I don't think you can walk by faith UNLESS you're being still. Its a still, small voice deep inside that leads and guides us into all truth. The truth that God is love and He loves you. And you can't hear that voice if you're running around like a chicken with your head cut off. You can't receive the gift you've been given if you're trying to earn something you think you don't have. You end up robbing yourself of what you DO have. And let's look at that. We don't walk by sight. We don't live all of the time by what things look like. Jesus said we shouldn't judge by appearance, by judge righteous judgment. Let the truth be higher than fact. Because the fact of the matter is, it might not look great. But the truth of the matter is, all things work together for good. I believe things work out in the end. If it hasn't worked out yet... its not the end yet. Love never fails. Because love endures. All the way to the end. In fact (in truth!) love IS the beginning and the end! And everything in between. So no matter what it looks like... exercise your faith. The worse it looks, the more faith you might have flex. Where sin abounded (before the cross), grace did much more abound. When the light shines, the darkness flees. Its not even a struggle. No contest. When God arises, His enemies are scattered. Period. So that gives us confidence to walk the walk. The way of grace was given to us by God. And we respond with the walk of faith. The walk of love. Because that's what faith is all about--have faith in God means have faith in love. Because God IS love. We walk by love, not by what it looks like. Love will carry us through any and every situation. Maybe not in exactly the way we think it should. Things don't always go the way we think they should. But they DO go the way God KNOWS they should. He knows the end from the beginning. Again--LOVE is the beginning and the end. Its all love. So doesn't sit in the corner and pout. Walk tall. One foot in front of the other. You can't walk by faith without walking. Exercise your faith. Put your money where your mouth is.