Living the life God intended

Have you ever felt like saying the above or maybe you have said it? You asked your children to tidy their rooms and it was like asking them to do something horrendous and you just think “just do it”. I was in a meeting a few weeks ago and I said to one of my colleagues – we need to have a Nike meeting. What – was the response. A Nike meeting – one where we did some doing and not just talking. God then prompted me – how often do I just talk the Word and don’t do it.  It must be frustrating to God. We limit ourselves by just talking and never doing. Let’s explore this further.

In James 2: 167, it states that faith without works is dead (or useless). Faith doesn’t do anything because it can’t. This is like talking without doing anything. Faith is useless or our trust in God is useless unless we have some corresponding action. When we receive Jesus as our Saviour and our Lord – we believed in our heart (faith) and confessed with our mouths (action) then we had to start living like we believed it. We couldn’t just say I believe in Jesus and still live the same way – no – that would be useless and our decision wouldn’t have meant anything.

Faith is a little like believing that your pay is going into the bank on a certain day but knowing it before you can see it. Our action is that we can eat our food, use the electricity, phone and water because we know we can pay for it in our next pay. This is having faith in our paycheck and acting like it is going to happen. It would be useless if we believed our pay check would come but refuse to use the electricity, water or phone in case it didn’t. That is called unbelief.

God may have called you to do something great. It isn’t only a matter of believing it but we need to put action towards it. If God has called me to be an accountant, I am not going to be one unless I have a degree. So I better get going and get one. If God has called you to lead worship, you better be working towards that by joining the music ministry team or taking singing lessons. If God has called you to preach, you better be studying the Word and starting a home group. There is always corresponding action to our faith. The reasons are:

1. God knows we believe Him.

2. We know we believe what God has told us.

3. Others know we believe what God told us.

So this week, look at the circumstances in your life that you want changed. Maybe you need healing, more finances, purpose for your life or more patience. Find the scripture in the Bible that promises you this. Then say it, believe it and do something about what you have just believed. Start a budget, start exercising or eating right, start on your purpose with the ideas set out above or just decide day by day to be more loving, patient and kind. You can do it – it is a journey of step by step – not a sprint. Have a great week and keep living the life God intended.