Hello Everyone!
I’m excited to be writing this blog because this is something I am currently going through; learning to have big faith. I have to be honest and say I thought of a million and one reasons why I shouldn’t have started a blog (and now a business). How many other blogs are there? Why would people want to read my blog? What do I have to say that hasn’t already been said? Oftentimes when we want to do something, especially out of our comfort zones, we fill our minds with the negative first and overthink all of the reasons why we can’t do it, why we wouldn’t be good enough, or why it would never work. Then we add a few positive thoughts after having built a wall of fear, anxiety, and doubt in our minds. At that point, we question if we even believe the positives about ourselves or if are we just saying it.
When I first wrote this blog, I had been dealing with some minor stomach issues; after going to the doctors and finding out everything was fine, I still would convince myself that something had to be wrong with me. The slightest feeling of pain in my stomach, I just knew it was cancer. A little ache or soreness in my chest had to be a heart attack; not that I could've worked out wrong, slept in an awkward position, you know logical things. And if you want to be even more anxious, go to Google (Please don't actually Google your symptoms!) Ever hear the phrase, ‘Give’em an inch, they take a mile’? That was me; because I was already having anxious thoughts, I allowed the devil to convince me that every LITTLE thing was something. Let me say this, please go to the doctor if you feel something could be wrong, or even just for a check-up, it doesn’t hurt to be sure. But in my case, where I knew nothing was wrong, I allowed fear and anxiety to rule. As crazy as this sounds, I almost would have rather something had been wrong with me because at least if that was the case, I could give in to fear and anxiety. Being in perfectly good health meant I had to go back and address fear and anxiety.
Oftentimes, we read about faith and profess to have it, but soon as we start going through a situation that requires us to put our faith in God, we start backtracking, “God, I ain’t sign up for all this'' or "God this isn't fair", or "God, why me?". I'm sure we've all said or thought at least one of these things. It’s easy to have faith in God when everything is good, but every now and again God has to shake us up to see if we trust him like we say we do, or if we’re going to still pray to him, and worship him. During this lifelong journey of building a closer relationship with God, I’m learning two things: first, our walk has to be personal to us, and second, our walk with God requires faith.
Philippians 2:12 tells us “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,” (NIV). This scripture does not require a deep dissertation. Paul’s message is very clear. Our walk with Christ has to be personal, and continuous, and we have to cherish it and guard it above all else.
I can get a ton of scriptures on faith, but another one that sticks out to me is Hebrews 11:6, “But without faith, it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (KJV). We cannot come close to pleasing God without faith. Believing in God alone takes faith considering we can’t see him, thus walking with him daily and building a lifelong relationship requires even more faith.
Friends, learn to let your faith be big. It’s hard sometimes (heck, it’s hard A LOT of times), but always choose faith over fear. I know that sounds like a cliche thing to say, but if you've been in a situation where fear and anxiety are running rampant, you know what I'm talking about. You have to continually bring your thoughts under subjection, and fill your mind with the word of God. It’s not just a one-time thing, sometimes, it’s a day-by-day or even minute-by-minute walk. EVERY area of our lives requires faith, we cannot please God without it.
*Please note, this blog was originally written in 2020*