Weekly Devotionals - Aaron
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. -Hebrews 12:1-2
In the Christian world we talk a lot about faith, as we should. Faith is central to...well... our faith. I feel that faith involves two avenues: belief and trust. Both of these come together to form faith. Faith as belief is essential. We must believe in God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent. It is good for us to make a confession of belief, but I do not believe faith ends there. We now begin our faith journey with exercises in trust. We run the race marked out for us. Our journey is uniquely ours. Sure, there are some similarities that every journey entails, but no two paths/journeys are the exact same. God isn't asking us to run someone else's journey, He's asking us to run ours. There will be some treacherous passes along the way. Old sea maps would contain the phrase, 'Here, there be dragons'. It was not a warning of literal dragons as it was a warning to prepare to encounter something along this route, and of course, it was smack dab in the middle of wherever you needed to be. You could attempt to go around them, sure, but their encounter was inevitable. They needed to be faced. The journey is perilous, but necessary. Our faith is the culmination of belief and trust.
I grew up believing that God wanted me to be perfect. That God was trying with all His might to make me perfect, but I was just not fit for the task; it was too much or not even worth it, I would just screw up anyway. However, as my own faith journey has progressed, I began to really think about what God is after. This is actually a fairly fresh thought. This idea of faith and what God is looking for in it, has been an ongoing conversation with God over the past year or so. Perhaps, just maybe, God wasn't demanding perfection out of me at all. Perhaps God was working on this trust aspect of faith. About a year or so ago, I began to consider that, perhaps, what God was most interested in, more than a confession of belief, was to simply remain faithful. It sounded good, sure, but was it right? Was it true? Does God want me to be perfect AND faithful?!? Oooph, that sounds overwhelming, but this call to remain faithful sounded too simple. Sunday, a dear friend approached me. They said, in spending time with God, I felt like I was supposed to tell you this... they then proceeded to hand me a note with a simple message: I do not desire a perfect man. I desire a faithful man.
You have your own race to run. It will contain different elements than mine, but there will be dragons along the way. Confront them. Face them. Overcome them, and I pray that God also lets you know that He cares about you and the journey you are on. Stay faithful; even when you don't understand, stay faithful. It won't be easy, but it will be worth it!
Questions for reflection:
1. What does it mean to trust in the Lord? Do you trust Him or just believe in Him?
2. When God speaks to you, about you, what does He say?
-Aaron
In the Christian world we talk a lot about faith, as we should. Faith is central to...well... our faith. I feel that faith involves two avenues: belief and trust. Both of these come together to form faith. Faith as belief is essential. We must believe in God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent. It is good for us to make a confession of belief, but I do not believe faith ends there. We now begin our faith journey with exercises in trust. We run the race marked out for us. Our journey is uniquely ours. Sure, there are some similarities that every journey entails, but no two paths/journeys are the exact same. God isn't asking us to run someone else's journey, He's asking us to run ours. There will be some treacherous passes along the way. Old sea maps would contain the phrase, 'Here, there be dragons'. It was not a warning of literal dragons as it was a warning to prepare to encounter something along this route, and of course, it was smack dab in the middle of wherever you needed to be. You could attempt to go around them, sure, but their encounter was inevitable. They needed to be faced. The journey is perilous, but necessary. Our faith is the culmination of belief and trust.
I grew up believing that God wanted me to be perfect. That God was trying with all His might to make me perfect, but I was just not fit for the task; it was too much or not even worth it, I would just screw up anyway. However, as my own faith journey has progressed, I began to really think about what God is after. This is actually a fairly fresh thought. This idea of faith and what God is looking for in it, has been an ongoing conversation with God over the past year or so. Perhaps, just maybe, God wasn't demanding perfection out of me at all. Perhaps God was working on this trust aspect of faith. About a year or so ago, I began to consider that, perhaps, what God was most interested in, more than a confession of belief, was to simply remain faithful. It sounded good, sure, but was it right? Was it true? Does God want me to be perfect AND faithful?!? Oooph, that sounds overwhelming, but this call to remain faithful sounded too simple. Sunday, a dear friend approached me. They said, in spending time with God, I felt like I was supposed to tell you this... they then proceeded to hand me a note with a simple message: I do not desire a perfect man. I desire a faithful man.
You have your own race to run. It will contain different elements than mine, but there will be dragons along the way. Confront them. Face them. Overcome them, and I pray that God also lets you know that He cares about you and the journey you are on. Stay faithful; even when you don't understand, stay faithful. It won't be easy, but it will be worth it!
Questions for reflection:
1. What does it mean to trust in the Lord? Do you trust Him or just believe in Him?
2. When God speaks to you, about you, what does He say?
-Aaron
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