Psalms 119: 105: "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path."
God has really been challenging me lately in the area of faith. Getting married has been wonderful. I am so blessed to wake up every day to my best friend. However, figuring out all the logistical things and practical things (bank accounts, insurance, etc.) has been a challenge. Especially because Josh has not been able to find a job yet. He left a wonderful church in Georgia as youth minister to come to Charleston and start our life together, here where I already have a job.
So often in the past few days... God has showed me example after example of how important it is to trust in him and have faith!
Genesis 18: God promises a son to Sarah and Abraham, but we see Sarah's doubt in verse 12 "So she laughed silently to herself and said,
“How could a worn-out woman like me enjoy such pleasure, especially when my master—my husband—is also so old?” But we see in chapter 21 that God kept his promise to them!
"1 The Lord kept his word and did for Sarah exactly what he had promised. 2 She became pregnant, and she gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. This happened at just the time God had said it would. 3 And Abraham named their son Isaac....6 And Sarah declared, “God has brought me laughter. All who hear about this will laugh with me. 7 Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse a baby? Yet I have given Abraham a son in his old age!” Despite her doubt... God delivered on his promise! And we see in teh next chapter, that Abraham's faith was tested as well. God called him and said
"2 “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.” His only son- the pride of his life- God called him to sacrifice! The amazing thing to me is that Abraham didn't bat an eye. He got the necessary materials and headed up the mountain. My study bible pointed out something very interesting in verse 5: “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants.
“The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.” Abraham said "WE" will come right back. Despite the fact that he knew God called him to sacrifice his son. I believe this shows us that Abraham trusted that God would save his son...
There are also so many examples of faith in the New Testament. Each time Jesus called a disciple, they dropped thier previous life and followed. No questions. (See Matthew 4:18-22, 9:9) In Matthew 14, one of the disciples faith is tested as Jesus walks on water.
" Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.” 29 “Yes, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. 31 Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”When we keep our eyes on Jesus- our faith is strong. But when we lose focus and pay more attention to the things around us in our life, those things that challenge us and make us doubt, our faith is shaken.
Scripture also uses the illustration of the mustard seed more than once. Wikipedia says: Mustard seeds of the various mustard plants are among the smallest of seeds. The seeds are about 3mm in diameter, and may be colored from yellowish white to black.
But Jesus tells us in Matthew 17 (when the disciples could not perform a healing)
20 “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible. He also says in Matthew 13 in a parable:
31 Here is another illustration Jesus used: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches.” 
I found another blog in my reading which addresses this point as well (http://tngmasterpieces.wordpress.com/2009/10/23/faith-like-a-mustard-seed/): Many times we talk about having small faith, faith so small that it would move mountains. We’re not wrong… but God wants us to grow in our faith. God wants us to grow our faith in Him. A mustard seed is known to be one of the smallest seeds in the world, but when it grows, it grows into a huge tree, strong, with a large canopy. See, God wants us to exercise our faith. It’ll start small, but as we walk in faith with Him everyday, it will grow. It HAS TO grow. God will not increase our faith for us. Faith has to come from within us, only by knowing how good and faithful God is.Faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word of God. The more we fill ourselves with God’s Word, the stronger our faith will become, even more so when we recognize that our God is a BIG and AWESOME God who is capable of anything and everything.
And its through the MANY verses that God has shown me.... I must have faith in a God that knows much better than I do. He will grow my faith in him through circumstances such as these.
Praise God!! :)
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