Faith & Trust -- and no pixie dust!

The following series of posts were inspired by Beth Moore's series, An Invitation to Disbelief. and A Story fit for a Song.

Our faith grows by completely trusting God. There is a direct correlation or cause and effect between truly trusting God and our faith. The Greater the Trust, the Greater the Faith, and consequently the Greater the Faith, the Greater the Trust. Faith and Trust are not solely independent of one another, and instead interact to strengthen each other as iron sharpens iron. They are so intertwined it is hard to see where one ends, and the other begins. Faith and Trust are a Divine Marriage of Supernatural Attributes, where you see one you see the other. Is it possible to even have one without the other?


In regards to my own marriage, I'm just going to be real honest, I don't always have complete trust that my husband will make the correct decision (don't worry, he would say that the feeling is very mutual & reciprocated, because we have both let each other down at one time or another during our 23 yrs of knowing one another), but I have faith in God that the Holy Spirit will lead my husband to make the righteous choice for his family, because he is not only accountable to me, but more importantly he is accountable first and foremost to our Holy Parent. 


Placing my trust & faith in God has blessed my marriage. While there will come from time to time disagreements between my husband and I where we don't always agree, due to our different perspective, we have faith that God will work it out. God has worked it out, so we have learned that we do not have to shout it out. While there will be disagreements from time to time there are no more fights or heated, loud arguments. Our daughter is blessed to watch people lovingly disagree with one another and resolve their disagreement with God's intervention, counsel, and wisdom that far exceeds our combined efforts alone. We encourage one another to talk it over with God. We have a strong marriage, because each of us independently has a strong relationship with God's Holy Spirit as well as both of us together as a couple enjoy having God's presence keep us company. We talk to God as a couple, and most importantly we are listening to God as a couple. It is God who brought us together, and it is God who will keep us together. I love that my husband loves the Lord, and that Jesus is his primary relationship.

Hebrews 11:6

New King James Version (NKJV)

⁶ But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

I must confess I did not fully understand this powerful Scripture, up and until I became a parent of a child who is about to turn 5 early in the New Year. I grew up in a house of deception and lies, so I vowed if I do anything right as a parent it will be to never lie to my child, so that she could have peace & security from fully trusting me. To this day I have kept my promise, not through my own strength, no the temptation to break my promise has arose on more than one occasion, and in varies different ways, such as not wanting to admit to my child that I was wrong and messed up and humble myself to ask her for forgiveness. As parents our pride can deceive us that if we admit we were wrong, humble ourselves before our children, and ask them to forgive us that our children will not respect us, and that it will weaken our relationship. My husband and I have found the very opposite to be true. Our child is not afraid to be honest with us, because we have not been afraid to be honest with her. Our child is also not afraid to ask for forgiveness, because we have not been afraid to ask for forgiveness from her. She has witnessed our remorse and our repentant heart due to our changed behavior, because we first allow the Holy Spirit to convict us, then transform us through heightened awareness that we stay vigilant as to not reoffend. Our child keeps her promise to change her behavior, because she has seen us keep our promise.


Through God's strength with the Supernatural intervening help of the Holy Spirit both my husband & I have been able to keep our promise to not lie to our child. My Daughter has complete trust, and faith in us that we have her very best interest at heart. Still there are times of uncertainty due to others deception, repeated lies, lack of empathy, & hurtful behavior that she doubts and questions if I will also do the same. When she doubts me, although I have not given her a single reason to do so it does pain me and hurt me, and it is not at all pleasing and the doubt does drive a wedge between us creating a temporary separation if even for a very short moment of time. Doubt is a powerful deceptive tool to create separation, that is why the enemy used it to come in between Adam & Eve and God. Unrighteous and unholy doubt can forever change and ruin a blessed relationship -- just ask Adam & Eve! I understand now how our own doubt and unbelief is displeasing to God, because it hurts God. It is an insult and slap in the face to Someone who offers us His Amazing Love and Grace.

Numbers 23:19
New King James Version (NKJV)

¹⁹ “God is not a man, that He should lie,

      Nor a son of man, that He should repent.

      Has He said, and will He not do?

      Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?

1 Samuel 15:29
New King James Version (NKJV)

²⁹ And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent. For He is not a man, that He should relent.”

When my child doubts me although I have given her no reason to and puts me in the same category of those who have let her down, it makes we want to shout out STOP COMPARING ME TO THEM, I AM YOUR PARENT AND I AM NOT LIKE THEM. I wonder if our Holy Parent ever feels the same way?

There are times when my child and I have had misunderstandings, and she has been adamant in her belief that because a certain outcome did not happen as she wanted she blamed me, and accused me of breaking my promise. She is upset, angry and confused about why things didn't transpire the way she wanted them to. When she is ready to listen, be still, and hear me out she discovers that I did not promise her a certain outcome, but rather wishful thinking led her to believe a certain favorable outcome would be the result of a given situation or choice she made. Sometimes a given outcome is not at all what she expected, longed for, planned for, earned, wanted, or needed at the time, because it did not necessarily benefit her in the current situation, but rather over the duration of her Life. For example, when her great grandmother went to Heaven, later followed by her other great grandfather, the recent death  of her grandparents dog which is the brother of our old dog who will eventually go to Heaven, because after all -- All Dogs Go To Heaven (movie from my childhood). One temporary loss of a physical relationship as painful as it is will prepare her for next, which will be more painful due to the closeness of that particular relationship. We can not control certain outcomes, but we can rejoice that our Faith and Trust in God to keep His promise that we will see our loved ones again some day.

The Parent-Child relationship is analogous to our relationship with God. We struggle, much like I child does, to completely understand our Holy Parent's ways and decisions, but His ways are not our ways. Our relationship with God, like our child's relationship with us, can not be dependent upon fully understanding every situation, but rather having Trust & Faith that in every situation God is going to miraculously use it to our benefit to bless our life, especially when we see no way. God is faithful to keep His promise, and redeem our pain and transform it into purpose. 

Jeremiah 29:11

New King James Version (NKJV)

¹¹ For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

When my child has doubt & unbelief I need to remind her of who I am. When doubt & unbelief challenge us we need to calm down, be still, and know that He is God, and remind ourselves of Who He is. . . The Great I AM. . . our Holy Parent who does not & can not lie, who keeps His Promise, and will do what He says He will do. God will move Heaven and Earth to bless our Life. The blessing may not arrive or result in the form we want it to be, but it will be just as we need it to be to equip us to fulfill our long-term Divine Destiny. What the enemy created to destroy us, God will transform our pain into purpose.

One day my daughter had a bad day, and I asked her, Do you love me? She was confused and said, of course Momma I love you. I replied, Even when you had a bad day? Again she did not understand, and said Momma it is NOT your fault I had a bad day. I could see her struggle with trying to figure out how in the world would her having a real bad day have anything to do with her parent loving her. My precious daughter is not even 5 yrs old yet, and she understands that her having a bad day has nothing to do with how much I love her. She is not my puppet and I am not her puppet master. I can not control what she does, nor what others do by their free will.


In fact my Beautiful Daughter knows that when she does have a bad day, when a friend has been mean to her, when things did not turn out fair, or when a punk kid came along out of nowhere and punched her right in the stomach, she can run into my arms and I will comfort her. She feels just how much I love her, that each tear is precious to me, and to see her in pain elicits pain in me, I feel what she feels, and when she cries, I cry too. As for the punk kid who punched her in the stomach, he will not go unpunished. Even if others do not do right by my child and fail to deliver justice, my faith and trust is not in People, but in God. I will intervene on my child's behalf. I will seek higher authority, until the bully is reprimanded, rebuked, or has a repentant heart as evident by his helpful rather than hurtful behavior. Even if the system totally fails, God's system does not. We have Faith & Trust in God that people will reap what they sow. We may not be around to see it happen, or it may appear that those who hurt us are harvesting great rewards in the physical world -- I say don't get discouraged, frustrated, or angry but rather rejoice and tell them to reap away for what they harvest is temporary and will not stay and they will be held accountable on their judgement day. And when they call our to the Lord the Lord will rebuke them and say part from me for I knew you not. For if they knew the Lord they would have a repentant heart.


My desire is to bless my precious daughter by sharing my wisdom with her, so that she can apply it to her life where applicable, make better choices where need be, and in the times where it was not a matter of choice, she was just a victim of circumstance, than my loving comfort is all she needs from me. She has taught me that my love is enough for her. And in turn I know that God's Love is more than enough for me.


Lord I know you love me no matter what kind of day I am having.