Life in the military brings moments that test our faith. Deployments and war zones are challenges of faith for both active duty and families. The military experience is riddled with days of uncertainty that can also include adjusting to moves, waiting for promotion results, changing jobs, and leaving friends and family.
Active duty or family member, strong faith grows one day at a time.
Like cotton candy, faith can seem to be something fluffed up with imaginings and held together by a web of sugar coated wishes. Just have enough faith and you can conjure up whatever you want, our misconceptions whisper.
We chide ourselves that we must try harder to have more faith. In our confusion we function as if we must act better and perform the right spiritual tricks–as if God is only moved to work in a life if the faith is good enough.
That skewed thinking puts it all on us, doesn’t it?
Living faith one day at a time.
How do we choose faith in the moment and enter into what God is doing? How do we hold onto the goodness of God when we must face situations that require courage and resiliency?
Choosing faith begins with God, not on our ability to harness belief and make it go our way. Faith begins and ends in the rightness of God–His way of doing and being right.
Faith is inseparably tied to the power of God.
Grace for saving and faith for believing,
the gospel is good news for every moment and every life.
The foundation of faith is the gospel that demonstrates the power of God. In the Greek, power is translated dynamis, which is God’s power for creating life, performing miracles, and righting the crooked soul. And for bringing strength to thrive in military life.
Everyday choices.
From faith to faith, God’s righteousness is uncovered to our eyes, opened to our understanding with a progressive light.
In a moment, we respond with faith and we discover more of God. He reveals truth and faith grows. God graciously stirs up more faith when we embrace and live out the faith we currently hold in our hearts.
It is the choice of a moment: to believe or not.
To trust or not.
To obey or not.
To rejoice or not.
Step by step and choice by choice we are walking into greater faith.
But the righteous will live by faith. In that small three letter word, but, is the choice of the moment. We can choose the wholeness of believing God, faith for every moment. Or the buts can become excuses and questions that turn our eyes away from God’s power and ability. When the excuses of our souls barge in, we take our eyes off God and we focus on the problem. The buts begin to bury our souls and faith grows increasingly weak.
Living faith bridges the gap between our need and God’s supply.
But…
Choose faith.
Choose to believe in this moment.
The righteous–that’s you and that’s me–
will live.
See, it’s a living thing.
Faith is for living life out of the shadows in the vibrancy of God.
Faith is real life for whole living in every moment, whether on the battlefield or the home front. It is God’s life, his zao, that brings joy and true life.
From faith to faith, we are learning that the word live means to enjoy real life, to know the vitality of God in our soul, to be active, powerful, and efficient, blessed eternally, to know true life and worth.
For in him we live and move and have our being. Acts 17:28 NIV.
He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’ John 7:38
Yes, living faith is the life of God made available to us by believing, made real in us by choosing faith in the moment.
Living faith for military life– it makes all the difference.
What one thing can you do today to choose living faith? What difference will choosing faith in this moment make?
Today’s post is from the reflections of Ginger Harrington, social media coordinator for Planting Roots. You can find Ginger’s writing on her award-winning blog, Ginger’s Corner: Where the Practical Meets the Spiritual. She has also written for Guideposts Military Blog and (in)courage. Ginger and her retired Marine husband have enjoyed twenty-four years of military life and are parents to three young adults.
