Silver Lining

One of my absolute favorite stories in the Bible is in the New Testament: The Conversion of Saul. What an amazing example of what faith in Jesus Christ can do to a person. Seriously. Wow.

So often we put conditions on our faith that we lose sight of what God is doing in our lives. Or we expect God to bless us so that our faith can grow stronger…..WHAT??? Ridiculous, right? I know, but we do these things because we are messy, selfish, imperfect human beings.

Let’s take a look at Saul (who becomes Paul). Here is a man who is binding and murdering Christians and ravaging churches. A soldier who is trained to HATE everything that Christians stand for. Yet, GOD USES HIM. When Jesus meets Saul on the road, Saul immediately asks, “Who are you, Lord?” OH MY GOODNESS! Why did he even need to ask, for Saul calls Jesus out by name IMMEDIATELY! YES! That’s it! Saul knows. He knows the Almighty immediately and in that moment, in his blindness, his faith is born. And as Saul is sitting in a house, blind and fasting, his faith is again confirmed when Jesus sends Ananias to lay his hands on him and heal his blindness. LIFE CHANGING.

God meets us where we are at and He doesn’t just hand us faith through all of the good, warm fuzzies. He BUILDS our faith through the junk, for it is in that where we seek Him, depend on Him, and see His glory. When we are lost and suffering and there is nowhere to turn, God says, “Here I am. I love you. I can fix it if you just let me.” And just like Ananias, God works through other people to help us, to lead us, to love us. That is where so much of God’s glory shines through. So often we get caught up in our own humanness during trial, that we are blind to God when it is in those times we should cry out, LORD I NEED YOU! I need you everyday of my life. When we come upon adversity and things look really bleak, GOD IS OUR SILVER LINING. The fact that He is working in us, growing our faith, making us who He has called us to be is the MOST. BEAUTIFUL. THING.

So as you go about your daily life today, know there will be struggles. Some may seem minor and some will be major, but seek God in those moments. Build your faith, for that is what He is asking for.

Dear Heavenly Father: You are glorious and amazing. Daily, I fall short of you. I know today I will fail and I will struggle. In those moments, I ask for You. I ask to seek you so that You may help me to continue to build my faith in you. So that I can be changed, though I am a broken person. Thank you Lord for Your grace, Your love, and Your Mercy. I am not deserving of it, but oh how I accept it with arms wide open. In Jesus Heavenly name I pray, Amen.

1 John 5:4 (ESV) “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world-our faith.”