The group Hillsong has a chorus that says, “I don’t know how You make a way, but I know you will”, it speaks to a strong faith in God’s provision for our lives. As we make our way into a New Year, what are our expectations of God’s provision? We live in the stories we tell ourselves and when those stories tell us nothing will change, we aren’t living into our faith.
We can’t live by wishful thinking, wishing everything will be wonderful-even if we have a strong faith. However, many of us are living just that way- wish finances would get better, wish our relationships would change, wish God would fix things, etc. Yet not do one thing differently-even if God has asked us to.
What has God asked of you that you haven’t yet followed through with? What are you ‘wishing’ for? Have you prayed about it?
There are some things in our life that are a struggle and will not be resolved this side of heaven. For those things we must lean into our faith and allow God to work in us and give us strength and a new perspective. God can provide peace even in the most difficult challenges.
- Have you lost hope in God’s ability to work in your life-in the situation that seems impossible?
- Has cynicism crept into your faith? What are your doubts?
Many times, when we talk about our doubts, we reveal our fears and that is where faith can be challenged. We can take our fears to the Lord in prayer and allow ourselves to be real with God instead of putting up walls. It is normal to experience fear and doubt, we just don’t want to live within those walls- we want to live in the freedom Christ died for us to have. (Galatians 5:1)
Perhaps boredom has crept into your faith. It has become routine, little or no expectation of God doing anything in your life. Faith can become routine when our view of God is limited to our perspective. Hebrews 11 lists many in the faith who overcame their perspective and believed God for what He had promised. Their expectation was that God would be faithful.
- Has your faith stalled out? Become routine? Begin today by changing one small thing in your faith journey- prayer, Bible reading/study, fasting- It doesn’t have to be a big change to make an impact in your faith. Pick one thing and practice for 21 days. Write down what you observe, learn and experience.
Look for God’s way in your life. Shift your expectation to expect that God is doing something new in your life and in the world. Get a fresh set of eyes for this new year and notice where God is moving. Write down where he has provided for you. Ask for His view of your life and be amazed!
“See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland”. Isaiah 43:19 NIV
