O me of little faith…

I am awake too early after going to bed too late, but it’s time to write. I have much on my mind, yet my thoughts have been lacking inspiration and creativity, so I haven’t been writing at all. The only thing I have on this Sunday morning is an attempt to expand on my last blog, A Fork in the Road. I feel determined to write my Sunday blog, if nothing else.

My favorite version of the Bible is the English Standard Version (ESV), and that version is what I typically reference here in my Sunday blogs. But today, I will be referring to the King James Version (KJV). In the KJV, “O ye of little faith” appears four times.

Matthew 6:30: “Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?”

Matthew 8:26: “And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.”

Matthew 16:8: “Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?”

Luke 12:28: “If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and tomorrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?”

As we travel life, we definitely encounter highs and lows, hills and valleys. Of course, we’d love to sit on the mountaintop more than often than not. But in reality we spend an a large amount of our time in the valley.

The valley though is a place to prepare for our journey upward. We do an awful amount of learning in the valley. So many times we tackle that treacherous mountainside without preparation and we fall back down until we are strong enough to attempt the climb again. This is hard when you see people seemingly always on top of the mountain. And they may be up there more than in the valley. You wonder how is that possible.

There are all kinds of terrain in the valley, and of course, on a mountainside. Thick forests, rocky pathways, rivers, lush meadows, briar patches, etc. All presenting their own trials of learning and growing. And, of course, there are the pathways that come to a place of decision, a fork in the road.

As I mentioned in my last blog, God should be first and foremost. Talking with Him should be in our daily walk, not just when we reach a place of indecision. He is not to be nicely folded and placed in a dresser drawer until we need Him. I have a history of doing just that. I want to handle things on my own, but that doesn’t always work out very well. Do I do this because of my lack of faith? O me of little faith….I believe this to be true.

When life finally beats you down enough, we have a tendency to start looking up. When things are going great, we tend to forget God. Eventually, we tumble off that mountaintop. Each tumble should be a lesson to strengthen us.

O me of little faith…

I have been trying to figure out my own pathway and direction. Quite frankly, it hasn’t been working. I finally reached a place of desperation and turned God. My relationship with Him has been improving greatly this year but there are still things I want to be in charge of. But I’m not as wise as I think I am. The forks in my road are numerous. For awhile now, I’ve been praying for direction almost half-heartedly. I didn’t have faith that I could trust God with this decision. Finally, I had to hand it all to Him as I felt I had no place else to go, other than curl up into a ball and die. There is just too much for me to handle alone. Now I see a fork narrowing into one path. And I am grateful. While there is still much on my plate, and many directions that call to me, I will remember the graciousness of God as He is answering my prayer.

My life is not really all that different from yours. We each have our own trials…and problems we’d like to pretend aren’t problems. Things we’d prefer to handle alone because we are wise in our own eyes. But I encourage you to reach out to God with trust that He will answer prayer.

O ye of little faith…

When I think of people standing on top of the mountaintop always seeming to have everything they touch turn to gold, I think of an old song called “Farther Along”. I don’t think of Brad Paisley’s version. No, I think of my old friend, Buddy, singing it. It was his favorite song.

If you read the words to the song it mentions that later, farther along, we will understand why to the many questions we have. Truthfully though, maybe we don’t need to have the answers to every question. Especially questions about those on the top. We just need to focus on what we need to do to keep climbing.

Find the beauty and blessings in life, whether in the valley or on your trek upward. Pray for guidance and direction. Keep learning life lessons to make you stronger.

Rejoice when you reach the top and be grateful for answered prayer.

I hope you were able to pull something positive out of this message. I encourage you to lay your burdens at Jesus’ feet. No longer be “O me of little faith”.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5

Thank you for joining me for a cup of coffee this morning as we sit together on my front porch swing.

Be grateful for a new day and new direction. ♥️

Andi

Photos: Maine adventures, October 2019; Karen on a narrow pathway at the bottom of the mountain; Greg & Karen walking a rocky, mountain pathway; music for Farther Along; Karen and I on top of Sargent Mountain **please excuse the repetition of pictures. I try to use pictures that help to convey a message. ♥️