ACT IN FAITH

Principle: Act in Faith

Begin to expect great things. Faith is born of gratitude. The grateful mind continually expects good things, and expectation becomes faith.

Scriptures: Matthew 9:28 - Two blind men came to him, and he asked them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" "Yes, Lord," they replied. Then he touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith will it be done to you," and their sight was restored.

As The Message says, "Become what you believe."

I think Christians are often very good at praying - asking, pleading, begging - but not so good at believing and acting in faith. Remember, as Hebrews teaches us, faith is that which is not seen or heard, but when we act in faith, we begin to act as if it's true. Probably we struggle with this because we're in the "McDonald's generation" which expects instant - or at least within a few minutes, hours, or days - gratification. When our dream, prayer or wish takes longer to come to fruition, we lose hope, give up and acting in faith is no longer an option.

When I began to act in faith that I could walk normally on my injured leg - which has had 8 surgeries and much scar tissue formation, the first thing I did was put my full weight on that leg. Surprise! Surprise! It didn't hurt. My body had gotten acclimated to favoring that leg because of course after each surgery it hurt so I didn't put any demands on that part of my body. However, after 15 years of doing so, my brain got the message and sent out regular commands to "go easy on the right leg." It's no wonder I was limping.

Often, we do that with all kinds of pain - physical or emotional. We begin to do things to survive, then they become a habit, and finally a lifestyle we don't question. Is there some area of your life you need to question?

As I began to put weight on my leg and walk in faith, the muscles actually began to build back up so I can walk more normally. It's been quite a while now, and I'm still "acting as if" until the new way of walking becomes my new normal.

One of my clients believed her mother hated her and they had a horrible relationship, but she really wanted that to change. It was scary because she felt very vulnerable when she let herself begin to notice good things about her mother, being grateful for things her mother did. What if mom didn't love her back? Sometimes it's just as important to think through the "worse case scenario" and then say we're doing something just because it's the right thing to do. Since she felt this was the right thing to do, she began treating her mother as if she believed her mother loved her. I believe unless you really have someone who's deliberately abusive, people respond to positive interactions with them, and this mother was no different. They're still working on the relationship, but what a powerful beginning! "Dorothy" said, "I can't believe we're actually talking to each other without yelling and her putting me down all the time." She felt kind of like Abraham when we read, "Against all hope, Abraham believed..." Good things happen when we act in faith.

Join me next time when I talk about Part 5, - What we Say is Powerful