“Nourished and exercised faith is the healthiest deterrent to drifting away from the Lord’s love and care.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today –July 12, 2023
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1, NKJV
Some of you remember mood rings. The claim of a mood ring was its ability to measure moods relevant to the temperature of the finger of the wearer. The mood stone embedded in the ring would change colors based on the blood flow into the flesh. As finger temperatures fluctuated, the mood stone would change colors from black to green to deep blue. Though a somewhat silly fad, perhaps what led to its popularity is the reality that we are moody beings. A student quips, “I am not in the mood to study.” An aspiring exerciser is distracted by busyness, as she muses, “I’m not in the mood to work out.” A Christian neglects prayer, Scripture, or church because he is not in the mood at the moment. Moods can manage us, or we can manage moods.
C.S. Lewis makes the point that recognizing our moodiness and then being in environments that inform our faith to help us not drift away from pursuing God in a strong current of moodiness:
One must train the habit of Faith. The first step is to recognize the fact that your moods change. The next is to make sure that, if you have once accepted Christianity, then some of its main doctrines shall be deliberately held before your mind for some time every day. That is why daily prayers and religious readings, and churchgoing are necessary parts of the Christian life. We have to be continually reminded of what we believe. Neither this belief nor any other will automatically remain alive in the mind. It must be fed. And as a matter of fact, if you examined a hundred people who had lost their faith in Christianity, I wonder how many of them would turn out to have been reasoned out of it by honest argument? Do not most people simply drift away?
“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17).
Nourished and exercised faith is the healthiest deterrent to drifting away from the Lord’s love and care. Like a body, faith is nourished by a regular intake of healthy nutrients…the spiritual food of prayer, God’s word, worship, and community with other believers in Jesus. Beginners in the faith enjoy the milk of the Word, while more mature believers feast on the meat of the Word. Faith exercised is a Spirit-led service that cares for those less fortunate with generous amounts of time and resources to give in ways that restore human dignity and redeem people to Jesus. Every day look for ways to bless others in Jesus’ name so they see Him as their hero, Savior, and King.
Similar to the low and high tides of the sea, moods have a cadence that can knock us off our spiritual game. But what is steady and sure are the large and small rocks that are covered by seawater at high tide, quiet and unseen…while boldly exposed at low tide, beautiful, strong, and unmovable. Our moods will ebb and flow through the high and low tides of life, and thankfully we have the solid rock of Jesus Christ to rest on by faith. Whether He seems out of sight in our suffering or in full view in our blessings…He is always with us to be seen with eyes of faith. Surrender daily to the Trinity’s faith, hope, and love, and those pesky moods will submit to you.
“In the same way, we can see and understand only a little about God now, as if we were peering at his reflection in a poor mirror; but someday, we are going to see him in his completeness, face-to-face. Now all that I know is hazy and blurred, but then I will see everything clearly, just as clearly as God sees into my heart right now” (1 Corinthians 13:12, TLB).
Prayer
Heavenly Father, give me eyes of faith to see you when life’s circumstances make it hard to find you, through Christ’s love and in Jesus’ name.
Application
Consider proven new ways to refresh your faith and energize your service.
Related Reading
1 Corinthians 1:9, 4:17; Colossians 1:7; 1 Thessalonians 5:24
Worship Resource
Elevation Worship (Acoustic): Give Me Faith
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