Faith

The Eyes of Faith

Valerie Cullers 21 Comments

Have you ever been praying for someone and you only see them as they are? Maybe they are making a bunch of mistakes. Perhaps they are sabotaging themselves at every turn. Their behavior has made you think of them and react towards them in a certain way. We seem to be locked into seeing them in a negative light and we treat them accordingly.

Perhaps we need to take some time and think about how the Lord would like their lives to be. What would that look like? If we can come up with a positive picture of them in our minds, then perhaps we can pray for them that way. We would be seeing them with the Eyes of Faith. Faith that when God intervenes in their lives, their lives will look much different.

The amazing thing about this is that when we can do that, we begin to treat them differently. We begin to treat them with more respect and we are not so negative towards them. We speak to them about the possibilities in their lives and try to help them see a different future for themselves.

When they can see themselves in a different light, it helps to dispel their negative self-image and sometimes they can believe in themselves again. People who are caught in a negative cycle of behavior have lost hope for themselves and their actions may just become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Is there someone you need to begin to look at with the Eyes of Faith? I know there is in my sphere. Remember the Scriptures say, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.” Hebrews 11:1 Let’s hope for the best and see those caught in a negative spiral with the Eyes of Faith. It just may help change their world.

Image by Daniel Hannah. Courtesy of Pixabay.

The Faith Factor

Valerie Cullers 15 Comments

Has anyone ever said to you, “Just have faith,” when you were dealing with a problem? The phrase sounds nice but it is vague and certainly uninspiring. Have faith they say but in what? God, yourself, your family, friends, the government…what exactly? Faith is an important factor in our lives and who or what we have faith in will make the difference in our present circumstances and will eventually determine our eternal outcome.

I don’t know about you, but for me to have faith in myself is a little unnerving. After all, I recognize my own shortcomings and deficiencies. Same with my family and friends. For all the love I have for them, they are just as mortal and flawed as I am. And the government…well, there is nothing there to inspire any faith, that’s for sure. So what or who can I have faith in that will really give me the security I need to stay grounded in this life?

For me, that faith resides in the Father and in His Son, Jesus. The faith I have is not a vague faith in some myths or fairy tales from the past. As we enter this most Holy Week, it is a historical fact that Jesus came to earth, was crucified, buried and rose from the dead. There are extra-biblical sources that record this including the writings of Flavius Josephus. Flavius Josephus was a Jew but was NOT a Christian. He served the Emperors Vespasian and Titus and was their historian during the conquest of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. and later served them in Rome. There was no Christian bias in his writings when he wrote about Jesus. He was just recording the facts as he knew them to be.

Ask yourself where or with whom are you placing your faith? Is the faith you have enough to carry you through the present and into eternity? These are questions that are imperative that we ask ourselves. It is not enough to blow through life like a leaf in the wind hoping that you will land in the right place. Hoping that your vague faith will get you where you want to be will bring you to a disappointing end.

There is Someone you can have faith in that will provide you with the security you need…why not give Him a try? The Faith Factor, it makes all the difference!

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

Photo by TC Perch, Courtesy of Pixabay.

This 24

Valerie Cullers 43 Comments

time-1739629_640Image by Gerd Altman Courtesy of Pixabay.

I have a friend who went through a pretty rough decade. She lost a son by suicide, her husband after twenty-five years and her godly father passed. I remember calling her when her father was failing and I asked her how she was doing. She said she was hanging on. Then she said two words that have stuck with me…this 24. She explained to me that she only had to live this 24 hours. She held on to her faith through everything she was going through one day at a time. When she was deep in the valleys, she held on to God’s hand moment by moment, hour by hour and day by day.

I took her advice to heart. When I walked through valleys, I reminded myself of her words…this 24. I then tried to push back the angst about tomorrow and the regrets of the past and focus on the one day I had been given. Jesus said it best when he said, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matthew 6:34

My friend continued to trust God, went back to school and became a Christian Counselor. She was able to help hundreds of people, either directly or indirectly, by sharing what she had learned in college and in her walk with The Father. Someone who has gone through the fire and come out the other side is a living testimony to the power and grace of God. Her experience has proved invaluable not only to me but to all the other people she has shared her wisdom with.

You may never get to know her or talk to her. That is why I am sharing one of the nuggets of wisdom she gave me about twenty years ago. If you’re going through a valley, I hope it speaks to you. Remember, hang on to the Father’s hand…you only have to live this 24!