Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Marked by faith



It is easy to become discouraged - to lose faith.  I am certain, with every fiber of my being, that God is directing our family to move.  Although I have missed "home" for a number of years, Sir Knight and I have never felt directed to move there - until a little over a year ago. God had to change both Sir Knight's and my heart and open our eyes to new possibilities for us to even consider this move, but we both are convinced this is the direction God is leading.  I am so certain that we are moving, that I have packed up a majority of our belongings.  But then, I open my eyes and see our failing economy, lackluster real estate market and international unrest and I start to question.  Did I hear you right, Lord?  Is it really you, or just my own desires cloaked as "your will"?  I begin to lose faith.

As I was sweeping my shouse today, thinking about that fact that nobody would ever buy our property and we were "stuck" here forever and generally feeling sorry for myself, I began reflecting on the uprising currently overtaking Egypt.  Our world is experiencing the consequences of one woman's lack of faith.  By encouraging Abraham to produce children with Hagar, Sarah gave birth to the Muslim nation.  God had told Sarah many years before, that she would be the mother of a great nation.  Years went by, hopes faded and Sarah decided to take matters into her own hands.  She decided to "help" God out.  In doing so, she was directly responsible for the greatest enemy of the Hebrew people to ever walk the face of the earth.  Not only did Sarah lose faith, she caused her husband to questions his faith as well.

As usual, God spoke to me through His word.  He showed me my propensity toward a lack of faith.  He showed me that no matter how long it takes, He is faithful in His promises.  It doesn't matter if everything looks hopeless - He has it under control.  He also showed me that one woman's faith (or lack thereof) can affect the entire world.

I will be steadfast.  I will not lose hope.  I will be marked by faith.


13 comments:

  1. I am constantly amazed by how our God works - although by now I shouldn't be! I spent most of this afternoon suffering the same type of weakness of faith and questioning of purpose. Then I get my quiet time and come to your blog...and God answers me through you!!! Thank you for being a willing messenger of His message! You and yours are in my prayers!!

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  2. Enola Gay,

    My husband and I are so touched by your post. We too feel a calling, but our calling is to Northern Idaho! I have no idea why and must just trust in the Lord. We have looked at the page listing your property and have longed to come see it. We are in no better of a position to move right now than you are. We own a home in Oregon and both have to work full time. We will pray for you as we wait on the Lord.

    God Bless!

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  3. I spent nearly 60 years waiting for the mate that I was sure God was preparing, just like everyone assured me He was doing. Once I realized that, as you said, I was cloaking my desires in His will and not living in faith at all, I accepted that His will for me was actually to remain single. If I had lived in faith instead of fantasy, I would have saved all those years of pretending I had faith. You said it so well. And while the details are different, I think the principle is the same for us both. Thank you.

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  4. As usual, you have shared your brilliant perspective. Using Sarah as an example is enough to stop every thoughtful Christian woman in her tracks. We must have faith. As we humble ourselves, the Lord will bless us. Many of us are quietly praying, loving our husbands and raising our children in the Lord. There is still much good in the hearts of the faithful. That we might support and encourage one another is my prayer. Thank you for sharing your heart... for you have lifted mine.

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  5. Want to trade?? lol. We're in northeastern NC....missing the mountains and cool weather :)
    Oh if it were only that easy! :) :) I always have to remind myself that I'm on HIS timeline....that is the hardest thing for me. When I feel like God has spoken to me, I feel like I need to jump on it right away...but sometimes I think He makes us wait just to teach us patience....I think you're better at that than me, but I get to chomping at the bit and have to pray not to lose faith as well :) Love the blog. Love the post. THanks again for sharing :) I pray that all your dreams come true! :)

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  6. We are in a similar situation as you are. Thank you for sharing from your heart. I know that God has a plan and we must continue to wait for His showing us how that plan is to play out. When I am weak, then He can show His true strength through me. Praying for your situation and our's, as well as a many others around the world who are going through similar situations.

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  7. We were in a situation similar to yours a few years ago. We were living in a large metro area, it was quite expensive but our family loved it, it was home. But then we felt called to leave. My husband dragged his feet for some time, but finally decided it was what we were to do. He took an early retirement and we bought a small farm outside a small rural town 6 hours away. I didn't really know why were being led in this direction, but I knew we had to obey. Nine months after our arrival we began to see why were here, in a small town where people help each other, where you can reach a degree self-sufficiency not attainable in the city, and where earning a large salary was not necessary. What we couldn't see at the beginning of our journey, but now was very visible, was that God would soon be calling my husband home. Eleven months after our arrival to our new home my husband left us after a 3 month battle with cancer. God calls to us every day. We must be attentive to that voice which reaches out to us in love, in care and concern for our well-being. And we must trust and go, like the Israelites, to places unknown for reasons unknown. He is ever faithful, all-knowing, all-loving and so deserving of our complete obedience. Continue on in faith, God never fails.

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  8. Such compelling stories, I am humbled by all of them.

    Evidently I don't hear the Lord when he speaks to me softly, because I am a willful woman who
    needs a smack upside the head from God before I get the message. Sometimes I laugh out loud at how I get His message - they arrive in embarassing ways, sometimes in painful ways, and often in humorous ways. Sooner or later, though, I get His message and steer that direction. He truly doesn't quit on us, even when we quit on Him.

    I like my home and wish everyone else in this town would move out, to eliminate the illicit drug trafficking. My Lord isn't going for it.

    NoCal Gal

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  9. Think about waiting 400 years to be rescued from Egypt like the Israelites did...or waiting 5, 000 years ish for the promised Messiah...or even 70 years for the Babylonian Captivity...God's Words are SURE and He will bring about everything He says He will do...circumstances do not matter...Studying Isaiah with BSF and it is amazing both how relevant it is to day and how much HOPE God gives for His people...Read Isaiah 40...
    Love,
    C~

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  10. you have family where you are wanting to move back to...just think of all the ""gifts" you bring with you on your return home. things will work out for you.

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  11. We are also waiting for the sale of our home so that we can move. Waiting is hard! I am trying to be patient, but as the economy crumbles, I too just don't see how it is going to happen. The devil is working on me, but I am fighting back!!!!!
    Hanging in there with you...........

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  12. Enola, the irony is you provide proof of God's grace to many of your readers, including myself. Clearly there is a reason you are where you are right now. Embrace it.

    You mentioned one of your reasons for wanting the move was your son 'kicks around' after studies. Think of this as an oportunity to find his niche no matter where he lives or who's around. For instance, many of us started off dog-walking and babysitting to make a little extra money & keep busy - could he do the rural equivalent of this? Maybe start a little business shucking stalls or working with animals? This could be a great opportunity for him to come up with ideas, try some things out and find his own ways to keep busy and be productive. He could even blog about his adventure (and maybe expand his business)

    I know this doesn't answer your wish to move, but you've truly provided so much inspiration to me that I hoped I could atleast give you some ideas in return :-)

    ~Clare

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  13. We so wanted to move from CA to north Idaho on the land we had already purchased, that we lost our patience. We moved the family up to live in a 29 foot travel trailer under the barn. We thought the house in CA would sell soon. That was in 2007 and now we have built a house up here but have 2 mortgages and my husband has 2 more years of "commuting" to work back in CA. This makes for stress, but I know it our fault for trying to force God's hand. How stupid we are for thinking we know better than the LORD. I have faith that he will provide for us, even in our stiff-necked, willfulness, just as long as we repent are listen to Him and do as He says.
    Paintedmoose

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