BlogFam, I am encouraged by the words of the psalmist found in Psalm 27:13... But I have sure faith that I will experience the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living! Now, I have to be honest with you that as excited as I am about "experiencing the Lord's goodness in the land of the living," I had to do a Holy Ghost check-in with myself on the first part of the verse. "But I have sure faith." Do I? Do I have SURE faith? YES I have faith. But that is not the question. The question is: Do I have SURE faith? That is a really good question. And my really good answer is this... Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't. I am just keeping it real, my friends. My answer is sometimes because there are times when I believe and there are times when I have my own doubts and I question myself. I have faith to believe in God but the delay or pressures of life or unanswered questions about the details that have yet to be worked out make my faith a little wobbly. Yes, I just said wobbly. Has that ever been your testimony? Have you ever had faith that was not so sure? Have you ever had faith that was a little wobbly? Well, if your answer is yes, you are NOT alone. For so many different reasons on so many different days in so many different situations, we have faith that is not so sure. We believe God. We have faith. But we all have had moments when our faith in the God we believe, is not sure. And while I know that this may have been our testimony or perhaps it is where some of us are right now, my prayer is that SURE faith, even if only the size of a mustard seed, will be our witness moving forward. Friends, I know misery loves company, or so "they" say; but I am not trying to live a miserable life and I do not think that misery is a hallmark of "experiencing the Lord's goodness." I believe that in some way, our faith, our SURE faith is the key to the kind of favor that comes with the Lord's goodness and the misery of wobbling in our faith is not an encouragement to ourselves or anyone else. We must have SURE faith. SURE faith is the kind of faith that is honest and hopeful. SURE faith is the kind of faith that is bold and courageous. SURE faith is the kind of faith that is convicting and certain. Do you have SURE faith? Friends, in this Psalm, the psalmist opens with words of praise and assurance of God's presence in his life. The words are confident and express clarity about trusting God, serving God, and protection from God. Then, the psalmist goes on a little rant about God handling his enemies and about God staying close to him. He expresses his desire to be taught by God and led by God in the opposite direction of his enemies. And in the next to the last verse, he says, But I have sure faith that I will experience the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living! BlogFam, in spite of all that he seems to be trying to figure out in his head, his heart is confidently sure that he WILL experience the Lord's goodness. Furthermore, because goodness is who the Lord is and that is a surety that will never change, maybe his SURE faith is grounded in that truth. And maybe THAT is the lesson for all of us with wobbly faith. Perhaps, when we focus our faith, for whatever we are believing God to do on our behalf, on the goodness of the Lord and the Lord who IS good, then we can have sure faith. Perhaps, our faith gets wobbly when we focus on the situation or circumstance that could be overwhelming us in the moment; but when we redirect our faith toward our belief that no matter what we are facing right now, ultimately, we will experience the Lord's goodness. Maybe it is then and only then that we will take the wobble out of our faith. Friends, no matter where you were in your faith or are right now, I pray that from this day forward you can sincerely declare: I have sure faith that I will experience the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living! May this be your response ALL the time, no matter who or what challenges you might be facing. May your faith never experience another wobbly day for the rest of your life... but if and when it does, remember that the Lord is good and that the goodness of the Lord is what the Lord wants you to experience. May we all have SURE faith! God LOVES You and I Do Too! Blessings, Glory, and Sunshine! Delesslyn |