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"And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness."
(Genesis 15:6)
I read Gary Keller's book, The One Thing, a few years back, and in it, he helps the reader laser-focus on the one thing that is of utmost importance. (This is Gary Keller of Keller-Williams Real Estate, by the way.) Keller challenges the reader to quit multitasking and zero in on his or her one passion. He challenges us to dream big and go for it. Keller tells the story of Scott Forstall (pg. 92) and how he sought after people who would step up and take on something gigantic. Forstall told those he worked with that they would undoubtedly experience their fair share of failures along with their successes, but if they could pull off their main goal, then they would happily look back on that accomplishment the rest of their lives. Those who believed and stepped up to the challenge did indeed create something they would remember for the rest of their lives. Forstall was Senior VP at Apple, and his team created a little device known as the iPhone!
Faith. Belief. Trust.
The longer I live, the more I see the importance of this simple yet far-reaching concept of faith. Some synonyms for "faith" are "believing" and "trusting". A lot of us have problems with this concept, but not because we don't understand the meaning; the problem lies in putting one's faith into practice. We can all say we believe in something or someone, but our faith is not proven until we act on that which we say we believe. For example, we can assert that a chair will hold us up when we sit in it; however, it is only in sitting down in the chair that we demonstrate that we have faith in the chair. As Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks likes to state it, "It's not in the dreaming, it's in the doing."
The people who are fun to be around, who are positive, who are influential, who really make things happen, are those who choose to believe or have faith or have simply mastered the art of trusting instead of doubting and being paralyzed with fear.
I hope by the time my next solo episode of REvangelical comes out that the Coronavirus will have slowed down and not increased in severity or in the number of people infected. But one thing I have noticed among so many in the world is a sense of panic and fear. These twins are the opposite of belief and faith.
Abraham is called the Father of the Faithful. He trusted God and stepped out in faith to pursue the LORD who had called him to leave his homeland and travel to the place that God would show him. Now that is praiseworthy faith: moving forward when you are not quite sure where you are going! God greatly rewarded this man of faith and action. God declared Abraham righteous based on the fact that he believed God.
Do you believe God? Is He calling you to attempt something grand? If so, go for it, step out, and remember that courage is moving forward, not because you have no fear, but in spite of your fear.
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