Real Faith is Hard

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, rely not on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge Him and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3: 5-6

Life is not easy. In this day and age there are enough problems, stresses and insecurities to give anyone a heart attack.

There are a lot of people who say they believe, but do they really believe? It is easy to get comforted to apathy, going on day after day, hoping for a better future, while being comfortable in the present moment. The reality is, having true Faith is hard. It requires constant uncertainty of all things save an unwavering faith in the providence of God.

I would go so far as to say that people who claim to not believe in God, haven't really tried, in fact I would say that they are too lazy to try. Instead they get all caught up intellectualizing in circles without really engaging in a real search for the truth.

There is a story about St. Augustine and his quest to understand the Trinity. While he was pondering the mystery of the Triune God, he came across a boy who was trying to fit the ocean in a tiny little hole on the beach. “Silly boy, “ says St. Augustine, “how do you expect to fit the ocean into that tiny little hole?” to which the boy (who was really an angel in disguise) says, "What I am trying to do is not as foolish as you....for trying to fit the mystery of the Trinity into your tiny little brain!”

Real faith requires commitment. It requires an unwavering resolve to follow the path that makes the least amount of sense. It requires stepping out of the comfort zone and running on water with your eyes focused on the Lord. Because as soon as you take your eyes of the Lord, you place your eyes on the storm. When you take your eyes off the Lord you begin to sink...and you cry out, “Lord, save me!”

If you have been following this blog over the last year you would know that I am only writing what I have been living.....giving up a stable career in teaching to follow a prompting (from the One and only) and what a year it has been! I wish I could tell you where it is going to end up, but really, life for me right now makes as much sense as jumping out of a boat in the middle of a storm...but I take comfort in the fact that God lives up to His promises.

Jesus! I trust in You.

TiPSI Dad

Attitude of Gratitude

 "Have faith in God. Amen, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it shall be done for him. Therefore I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours.

Mk 11: 22-24

Lately I seem to have developed a bad habit of saying I am going to start something and then not post anything for weeks on end...for which I apologize. The truth is, life has been pretty busy...busier than normal, which is not really an excuse, just more of a statement. After all, what kind of person would I be if I did not practice placing my priorities where I preached?

Anyway, I have also realized that it is going to take way longer than five posts to cover all of the scriptural financial principles that I have been following. Not only that, but due to my sanguine temperament I was starting to dread the monotony of writing about a singular topic for so long...So instead I will do these posts over time, but not sequentially.

Starting with First things First, the most important principle that I should write about is the principle of Gratitude.

It has been said many times that there is a difference between having a childlike and childish faith. However it is funny how many times people regard the two as identical.

The difference is Gratitude. There is a certain magic in the eyes of a child when they receive something that they asked for.

The key to expressing gratitude when it comes to financial matters, is gratefully acknowledging that every penny that comes into our possession, is not actually ours, but God's. Acknowledging this truth leads us closer to the true understanding of Financial Stewardship. Without this knowledge we begin to think that our money is ours to control and to spend. Doing that blocks the conduits of grace which exist to provide us with abundance.

More on stewardship next post.

TiPSI Dad