31 Days of Living by Faith, Day 12, Faith in The Everyday

Faith: complete trust or confidence in someone or something (Oxford Dictionary)

I heard a sermon this year where the pastor said that stress is just a form of fear.

That struck a chord with me.  As a person with stress-induced tension headaches I realized that I’m not ‘living by faith’ the way I am (we are) meant to.  

As a Christian, what do I have to be stressed about or afraid of?

Is there really anything in our lives that is beyond his control?

How insulting must that be to God; to have all these people in a tizzy when He`s got everything covered?

 The fear of the Lord leads to life; then one rests content, untouched by trouble. ~Proverbs 19:23

Fear of the Lord is awe and reverence of God.  He is mighty and jealous and in control.  When we have awe and reverence and respect for God, it is not to say everything is rosy, but trials and tests will not shake us to the core – we have our faith to rely on.  The trouble exists, but we can remain “untouched” by it.

But what does that mean exactly and how does one walk that out?

In your everyday life, how do you live by faith?

This is what I’m struggling with/learning through right now. I can know in my head that God has all my steps planned and wants to bless me, but how do I deal with the fact that money is tight or my work schedule went bonkers or this or that… How do I take head knowledge and make it something that brings peace to my soul?

I have been very stressed out lately.  There have been a lot of big changes going on in my life.  My husband and I recently bought a house that we cannot afford.  There were some major changes in my husband’s extended family and, long story short, he felt really strongly that God wanted us to buy the ‘family’ home. 

Right away I knew that God would have to work a miracle because no banker in their right mind would approve us for a mortgage.  Well, not only did the bank did approve us, but God provided us with tenants to rent the house right away so we could continue living in the granny suite.  This way a portion of our mortgage is covered by their rent!

This was all well and good. but my husband and I have a lot of debt between us and we knew that we didn’t have the difference each month to cover the rest of the mortgage payment along with the increased insurance, hydro, and other bills.  I would pray, asking God to continue to make this work…

“Ok God, you gave us this house, so now you need to give us a way to keep it…”

And then my work situation went haywire!

About a month ago we lost 2 staff members within the same week and my boss didn’t have time to replace them before having to be away for 3 weeks, so my hours have almost doubled meaning we’ve been able to pay all our bills with the extra money coming in.  And, the funny thing about faith is, even as I am typing this, I am realizing even more everything that God lined up and all of his provisions. 

It’s silly how much time I wasted being stressed and, if I’m honest, a little cranky.  I almost missed the blessing by letting myself be overwhelmed – and how is that being a good witness of God’s goodness?!

I think the key to living by faith is keeping your communication with God open.  It has to be a conversation, not a monologue.  If I just ask for stuff, or vent and don’t listen to the reply, I risk missing what he’s really trying to do.

I was looking for other jobs that pay more to avoid all this stress instead of realizing that he’s given me this job, in my field of expertise, and if I’m faithful to him and what he’s doing in my life, he will be faithful to provide for me.

I realize that stress for me is fear that I have to make it all work out –and deep down I know I can’t.  I need to put down the reins and let God steer. I need to relax and trust that He’s got my back.  I need to learn to spend more prayer time listening so that I hear His guidance and feel His peace.

The fear of the Lord leads to life; then one rests content, untouched by trouble. ~ Psalm 19:23

Laura is a Christian woman who is realizing a deeper relationship with God & is excited about the path He has set before her & her husband. She is happily married to a wonderful Christian man, adores her two Yorkies and works full-time as a Makeup Artist. In her spare time, Laura blogs at brknpoet.com and tackles giant piles of laundry.

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Tricia Gillespie