Articles
Increase Our Faith
We can look at all around us and see that everything is in a state of chaos. There is a lot of talk about anxiety now. The lives of so many have been turned upside down. There is so much worry. I would like to propose a new thought paradigm.
Now is a time for God’s people not to fret and worry, but to demonstrate their faith. Faith is a choice. We get to choose in whom we place our faith. All the news is so bad. So many affected, so many deaths. It can be overwhelming, for sure. But rather than be overwhelmed by fear and anxiety, now is a time to place our complete trust in God. If all we focus on is life under the sun, we will be overwhelmed. We say we live in this world but are not of this world. Now is the time to demonstrate that. We must stop letting the world and world news tell us how to think. Today we can remember that God is good. We can remember that God has always followed through, faithfully, on every promise.
In order to reinforce faith, we must change what we think about. Think about good things, just things, lovely things, pure things, and holy things. Think about God’s immeasurable love. Whatever we allow in our mind will affect our thinking. Our thinking will affect our actions and words. Instead of listening to things that fill our mind with worry and fear, read God’s word and fill our minds with stories of how God helped His children in difficult times. Remember how God delivered the children of Israel and provided for them through all the wilderness wondering? Yet, remember how they complained and fretted the whole way, all 40 years? Oh, how it could have been so much more different for that first generation. They listened to the wrong people and it caused their unbelief and fear.
In order to reinforce your faith, count your many blessings. Allow your mind to be filled with gratitude, not anxiety. It is hard, if not impossible, for a heart to be filled with gratitude and worry at the same time. When our minds are filled with thanksgiving, it is because our minds are thinking about right things and about God-centered things. We must get our minds off this virus and onto God. Counting blessings will occupy the mind, so that worry will fade.
In order to reinforce faith, we need to look. Look at people who are demonstrating their faith in this challenging time. We must not look at others who are as fretful as we are. Look to and look for people who are stable, grounded, and living without fear. Imitate their faith. Talk to them about their faith and what makes them strong. If all we do is talk to those who are as fretful, anxious, and worried as we are, we will reinforce negativity and fear. Do not let that happen. Build strength and faith by walking with those who are strong and demonstrate lives free from worry. Look at Hebrews and walk with those faithful ones. Look in our congregation and walk with them.
In order to reinforce faith, reach out and help someone. If you have the ability, help financially. But all of us can pray for one another. Do not just pray, let them know you prayed for them. Most all of us have a device by which we can contact each other. I understand that many good things are happening on Facebook. To get our minds off worry, we must get our minds on others and their needs.
For all the number flying around that make one dizzy, here is one number that is the most important. One hundred percent of those in Christ will see the face of the Father. I do not know about you, but I will take this percentage every time.
“You don’t have to wait to feel positive enough for a smile to happen. You can generate a positive feeling by smiling. Your smile can be the source of your positivity, not the result of it. Smile more today” (Jon Gordon).
Rickie Jenkins
