With and Without Faith

When I read the line, “Without faith NOTHING IS POSSIBLE and with it NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE," it challenges me.

Faith, in simple terms, is believing in what you cannot see. We live it out every day. When you have what you want or ask for, you no longer need faith.

I think many of us have more questions about faith and how it actually works than we have answers. Sometimes I feel we've complicated a fairly simple concept, but just because it's simple does not mean it's easy to live out. I simply wanna share my thoughts and experiences about faith.

A couple weeks ago I was flying to Pennsylvania and asked my sister to pick me up.

She said, "Of course! I'll be there! You can count on me.”

I thanked her in advance because I believed she would be there. I knew I could count on her because she is trustworthy.

Faith works the same way. We thank God in advance for what we ask for because He is trustworthy. We can count on Him because He cannot break promises.

There is a natural element of living out faith on a daily basis and there is a spiritual element which sometimes can be more difficult.

The natural element tells us every day that we'll get through even though we have no idea what the next moment will bring. (Faith)
We get in our car believing the car will start and get us to our destination. (Faith)
We make travel plans knowing nothing about planes or piloting but we believe we'll get to our destination. ( Faith)
We go to work everyday believing at the end of the week we'll get a paycheck. (Faith)
The list of examples that show the natural element to faith is endless. When you think about how we function by faith every single day it's simply impossible to live without it.

Then there's the spiritual element of faith.

For centuries people have lived normal daily lives wishing, longing, believing, and praying for the things they wanted.

All the years of living out my faith have shown me that God can be trusted. Yet there are times I wonder if He will answer my prayer or grant my request? Do I have enough faith?

I have prayed silly prayers, desperate prayers, selfish prayers, angry prayers, and sorry prayers. (All of which I prayed believing God heard me.)

I've prayed many prayers and wondered and waited and thought it was impossible, but I prayed anyway. I've prayed about everything that matters to me.

What I've discovered is that faith is not about praying to control others for an outcome you want. That's called manipulation.

Faith is not about praying for everyone to get on your bus and do things your way to get what you want. That's called selfishness.

I learned this as a kid, although I didn’t know it at the time.

I was about ten years old and I wanted my very own little blue bicycle. My eight siblings and I shared everything and I WANTED my very own.

I believed (had faith) that I could have this bicycle! I remember the $10 price tag of the bike sitting in our neighbors front yard. I asked my mom sheepishly if I could have that bike.

She looked at me and said, "Anna Betz, we don't have $10 to buy you that bike.” I persisted but ultimately I didn’t get the bike.

I learned that day, I can not have everything I wanted even if I pray really hard for it. At the same time, that lesson showed me how to be hopeful because of faith.

Faith can give us hope in those times when we feel hopeless.

I clearly remember the years when I had no hope. I felt defeated as a wife, mother, and a friend. Even in that condition, I saw a flicker of light. I visualized what and who I could become. (Faith)

I saw myself happy again, at peace with my family, being a loving and caring wife and mother. It was a picture of what I wanted to be and I had no way of knowing how I would get there.

That's faith! Believing in what you cannot yet see.

That visual gave me a clear picture and I kept seeing it in my mind. It gave me hope and something to work toward becoming. It was a long faith journey for me but today I know that faith has done its work.

My life of faith has changed over the years because I know now that faith is a pure and simple way to live what is personal to you and will benefit others.

As an adult, I still remember the disappointment of a prayer that went unanswered but it has not kept me from believing "with faith ALL things are possible".

It's a privilege to talk to God about anything that concerns you. I've had more prayers answered than I ever believed would come true. I am an example of impossibilities becoming realities.

I’ve seen miracles in many forms.

• Healing of my mind.
• Healing of my body.
• Healing of my soul.
• Healing in our finances.

Throughout my life and in my darkest places, I’ve always seen a flicker of light. That flicker was faith seeing something I didn't have yet.

I wonder how many of you are facing an impossibility right now?

Remember, there is an enemy to faith. It's called Fear. Fear is the opposite of Faith.

Without faith, we would not be able to move forward every day. Fear would keep us in bed, keep us from making travel plans, keep us from a secure job, keep us from making plans because fear is always feeding us doubt.

Faith is what keeps life worth living.
Fear is what keeps us from living life.

Faith is really forward thinking. It’s about looking ahead with hope.
Fear is living today. It keeps us afraid to think or look ahead.

I wish I could give you a quick answer or a quick fix to get you to a better place but the journey is yours alone.

If you’re finding yourself in a disappointing, challenging, or hard place, remember that your faith is given to you so that you can believe in what you cannot yet see. Your faith will give you the determination to do the work that needs to be done because remember:

No faith.
No possibilities,
Know Faith.
Know all things are possible.

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