O me of little faith…

My favorite version of the Bible is the English Standard Version (ESV), and that version is what I typically reference in my posts. But today, I will be referring to the King James Version. I don’t know…I guess because I want to use the word “ye”. 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 a large amount of our time in the valley.

The valley, though, is the place to prepare for our journey upward. We do an a boatload of learning in the valley. Many times we tackle that treacherous mountainside without preparation. We tumble back down until we hit rock bottom and we stay there until we think we are strong enough to attempt the climb again. This is especially frustrating when you see people seemingly always on top of the mountain. They may be up there more than in the valley. And 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.

God must be first and foremost in our life. Conferring with Him should be in our daily walk not just when we reach a place of indecision, or carry a heavy burden. 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 certainly doesn’t 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. I think I often haven’t trusted God enough to make decisions.

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

O me of little faith…

My relationship with God has been improving greatly but there are still things I want to be in charge of. I’m not as wise as I think I am. The forks in my road are numerous. Maybe I’ve been praying for direction half-heartedly. Maybe I haven’t had faith that I could trust God with my many decisions. I do realize I have to hand it all to Him. There is just too much for me to handle alone. I believe I will 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 I know he is answering my prayer.

My life is not really all that different from yours. We each have our own trials and problems. Mine are just mine, and yours are yours. Our own just seem so much bigger. Which we prefer to handle alone because we see ourselves are wise in our own eyes. But I encourage you to reach out to God…with trust.

O ye of little faith…

When I think of people standing on top of the mountaintop and everything they touch seems to turn to gold, I think of an old song called “Farther Along. I can hear 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 on climbing. Nothing else matters.

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 along the way to make you stronger.

Rejoice when you reach the top!

And try to stay there this time!

I encourage you to lay your burdens and decision-making at the feet of Jesus and 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

♥️

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 only use pictures that I take and typically I try to use pictures that convey the message. ♥️