Faith is Hard
If you missed my announcement yesterday, I will be posting on my blog every day in October about the three things I love most…Farmhouse Decor, Family, and Faith.
And since today is Sunday, it’s the perfect time to start with a FAITH post.
But when I started thinking about what to write, the only thing that kept coming to mind was FAITH IS HARD.
There’s no getting around it.
Here is the definition…
“A firm belief in something for which there may be no tangible proof.” It’s hard to believe in something for which there may be no “tangible proof,” right? Especially in this world we live in now…where everything has to be proven, shown, or scientifically solved. Faith in Jesus Christ just doesn’t make sense sometimes. We’ve never met him. We’ve never seen him. He lived a long, long time ago. Some of the stuff we read about him is kind of hard to believe, because, well, they are miracles, and we don’t really see many miracles (*added: like the ones in the bible) these days.
Do you say these things in your head sometimes too?
That is why FAITH is so important. It takes courage to have faith. Having faith in Jesus sometimes goes against what our head is telling us and choosing to trust our heart instead.
I remember when I had just graduated college and was living on my own in my first apartment. I had grown up in church and fell in love with Jesus at an early age. But Jesus was easier when I was little. He was easier to believe. My life was sweet and protected by my precious parents. I had not experienced many troubles or struggles that would have tested my faith. But as I got older, it was harder to have faith. It was harder to believe. So I sat in my apartment by myself and cried out to God, “I don’t know if I even believe any more. I don’t feel you. I feel so far away from you. I thought I once knew you, but now I am struggling. I feel lost. Where are you?”
And then I realized two things: God is who he says he is, or he isn’t.
Which was I going to believe? My head was struggling to believe, but in my heart of hearts, I knew that God was who he said he was.
I knew that part of the reason for my doubts was because of my lack of time in prayer, in reading my bible, and well, in walking in FAITH.
So I prayed, “God, in the midst of my doubt and confusion, I am going to walk forward. I am going to do everything in my power to find you. I commit to praying and reading my bible even when I don’t feel like it, even when I am doubting. I will seek you even when I am not sure of what I am seeking, and I pray you meet me there. If you are real, meet me there.”
Over the next few months, I CHOSE to believe even when I felt like doubting. When I read God’s word, I chose to BELIEVE it. When I prayed, I CHOSE to believe that God was listening. And I was hoping that those choices to believe would start to awaken my dead heart.
And guess what, y’all? IT DID.
God met me there. God showed up. Although he had never gone anywhere in the first place!
I was the one that had gone a different direction. And God in His goodness welcomed me home with open arms.
Now, I am not saying that “doing things” like reading your bible and praying and attending church is going to make God love you more. I’m not saying that “works” is what earns us a relationship with God, but I am saying that our actions can either draw us closer or farther from God. It’s just like a dating or marriage relationship. Can you imagine growing closer to your husband if you never spent time with him, never talked to him, never tried to get to know him better. That is a marriage that is destined to fail.
But for some reason, we as believers think we can have a relationship with God without ever talking to him or spending time with him. Y’all, that will never work.
God speaks to us through His Word, the bible.
He shapes, heals, lightens, and transforms our hearts when we spend time with him in prayer. And over the years, I have learned that prayer is more about God changing my heart that actually answering my prayers! I used to only think that we prayed to God when we needed him, to ask him to help us (which we can always definitely do!) But as I have gotten older, I’ve realized that prayer is more about God doing a work in my heart. When I go to him in prayer, he gives me peace, he puts my problems in perspective, and he reveals to me changes I need to make in my own life. PRAYER IS SO IMPORTANT.
Do you what to experience “LIFE THAT IS TRULY LIFE?” Are you sick of the fake stuff? Are you sick of life without purpose?
I’ve been there. Many times. And I’m sure I’ll be there again someday.
That is when FAITH becomes so important. Faith that Jesus is who He says He is. Complete trust.
There is so much JOY there, y’all. And I want that JOY for me, for you, for my children, for everyone!
It all starts with FAITH.
Please know that I am praying for all of you. God knows you by name and He loves you so much!
Will you please email me if have a specific prayer? Will you please email me if you do not know Jesus or have a relationship with Him, but want to? I would be so honored.
Email me at beneathmyheart4@gmail.com.
And thank you for letting me share my heart with you today. I’ll be honest that sometimes I’m a little nervous about sharing my faith online. I don’t feel adequate, and I always worry about saying the wrong thing. But I am trusting God to send the message today to who he wants to hear it. I pray that He speaks through my simple words.
If you want help with how to start a routine of spending time with God, I made a couple of videos last year of how I spend time in God’s word and in prayer. You can check them out below.
Thanks and GOD BLESS YOU, sweet friends!
xoxo, Traci
Traci,
Just when I think you can’t top that blog entry,. Here you go and give us another breathtaker!. I love your home blogs, your Sania blogs but your faith ones speak to us!. You can word it to there some Sunday school teachers, and even preachers don’t get thru and you just “put it out there” we all love your faith blogs. Please share more. It’s helping us far more than you may think. What a wonderful witness you are!. And what a love you have for our Saviour!. This entry today was awesome and touching! Never doubt doing an entry in what you stand firm on!! Thanks again!
Leslie-
So perfect and timely for me to read this morning. Thank you for sharing your heart as always, Traci. xo
I also am shy about expressing my faith publicly for the very same reasons, but Traci! Your post is hit the nail right on! I could never have expressed so well what is in my heart. You are gifted and talented in so many ways! Please keep on expressing your faith. You are doing it for us, and that is so heartwarming and comforting. God could not have chosen a better ambassador.
Traci,
Thank you for this. So many unspoken thoughts revealed here. Thoughts that I’m ashamed to admit myself and so freeing to hear from someone with a heart of faith.
Thank you, Traci, for this. So timely this morning…these past few months.
Traci, thank you for the reminder that faith is not just something we are given but instead it is something I have to work for. For so many years of my life I have struggled with this so-called faith concept, and your words today have reminded me that it is a conscious choice I must make every day – to have faith! You have been a blessing in my life, not just today but in reading your everyday life experiences, your joys, and your struggles yet you remain strong in your faith and your love of God. Thank you, thank you.
Sincerely,
Phyllis J
Love it!!
That was awesome. Thank you for sharing that. I love it.
Yes and amen!!! Ditto what Leslie said. Thank you for sharing! I love, love, love this post, your heart for others, your love for Jesus, your blog, your adoption stories, your home, and you! You are such an inspiration & encousgenent!
And later today (making chocolate now) – im showing my hubby your tutorial on refinishing a claw foot bathtub. We found one on Craigslist and when I’m gone to see my CO kids he is going to Maje it all beautiful for me :)
Amen!! Thanks so much for sharing your love of our Lord with us! May God bless you today and always.💕
We breathe to give God glory and you just did. We all have those periods when we scoot away from God. He is so faithful to love us through them. Thank you for sharing.
I am not always the best Catholic but I am a good Christian. When things get tough – and they have been lately – I end my prayers with Thy Will be done. Things always seem to turn out for the best when I turn it over to Him. Recently I prayed for my husband – as did many other people – and our prayers were answered and it looks like I will get to keep him for many more years. I have Faith.
We need more people who will share their faith, especially in the world we love in today. Thank you and may God bless you.
I implemented your idea for the prayer file last year. Doing this has not only organized mt prayers, but deepened my relationship with God. Just the other day,I had some friends ask me to pray a special prayer for them. They said that I am “the best pray-er they know”. It warmed my heart knowing that people really believe me when I say that I will pray for them.
I love seeing all the answered prayers!! It has definitely increased my grateful heart. God is so good to lead me to you!!
Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to blog everyday this month. I look forward to what else you can teach me!
Shannon
Louisville KY
Hey Traci, Love that you are blogging every day in October!!! So excited! Quick question… where did you get your white couch in video one?
Hi Marianne! That couch is from Ballard Designs. :)
It’s from the Baldwin series. xoxo
Thank you! I’m looking for one so it caught my eye! 😉
Such a wonderful post. It helped me so much and I’m sharing it with my college sophomore son!! Thank you Traci.
What a great post! Thank you! I don’t know how I would live or what I would do without my faith. It’s what carries me through this life. I look forward to reading your October posts!
AMEN!!
I read your post this morning and it really touched me. I just read it again. Faith is our choice, believing in the unseen. Thanks for this post.
I enjoy your blog. It’s always inspiring and interesting. I know you have a strong faith but I disagree with what you said today in your blog “we don’t really see many miracles today”. We do, they are all around us. Everyday. God has not quit performing miracles. Answered prayer is a miracle. Please do not quit looking for them, you will be missing a blessing and it grows your faith continually. A miracle does not have to be HUGE thing, it can be the smallest thing and just as important. Always always look for God has done.
OH Becky, I see miracles every single day! I totally agree with every word you said. I was referring to miracles like we read in the bible…healing the blind, spit from a whale, lame to walk, feeding the 5000. Many read those miracles for the bible and feel disillusioned when they don’t see the same type happening today. I almost went back and changed that part of my post before you even left a comment because I didn’t want people to think God still isn’t doing miracles. He certainly is! Every single day we live is a miracle! I am sorry I didn’t clarify myself. :)
Thanks for following my blog!
Thank you Traci for sharing your heart here on your blog. I stand here with you. I support you in your faith in the Lord Jesus. Thank you so much. I will look forward to your October posts.
Thank you for sharing! It is exactly where I’m at right now and what I needed to hear today. Blessings!