Firing on MOST Cylinders

I have a wonderful vehicle! Everything on it works perfectly…just not at the same time. Can I get an Amen? This is how I often feel about life. Just when I get one area working for me, another area falls apart. If you are normal (or not in extreme denial) this describes you too. If we are honest, we often feel this way in our walk with the Lord too.

There are times when my prayer life is booming, but I am having difficulty in a relationship. Other times I feel that every time I open God’s Word, He is speaking directly into my circumstances, but simultaneously I feel I am coming up short in sharing Christ with others. As much as I want to be firing on all faith cylinders, I can never think of a time that I felt every area of my faith was functioning at peak performance.

As I talk to Christians, I find this to be true across the board. As I engage in conversation with Believers, often the first thing they talk about is the area that they are lacking in. Prayer may be requested for a “dry season” they are experiencing or I hear, “I need to pray more”. I have even talked to people who are honest enough to confess, “I don’t feel as close to God as I used to and I want to feel that again.”

If you are down about any part of your Christian walk, keep reading. First, the Word tells us in Philippians 2:12-13 that we are to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. This implies that until our salvation is complete and we are no longer on this earth, there is a need to work on things; there will always be weak areas. That takes faith! Faith that believes in things we cannot see, things that are yet to come.

We really shouldn’t trust how we feel about our faith. Doesn’t that take away the act of faith? Let me elaborate. If I wake up one morning feeling really crumby about my worship lately,  but I am scheduled to serve on the Worship Team at church that day…do I call in and say I am not “feeling it”. No. I go anyway trusting that through my act of faith God will give me a deeper revelation about worship. Most likely when I leave church, I will feel great about worship. I woke up with one feeling and a few hours later I feel the opposite regarding worship.

If we base our theology on how we feel in the moment it becomes ever changing. Faith is steady and stable. Faith says no matter how I feel about a particular part of my faith, the God I have put my faith in never changes. My feelings and mood swings may shift, but God remains the same. It is natural to feel as if we don’t measure up in all areas. Personally, I think God uses that to help us work out our salvation. Firing on most cylinders in our faith is natural and it reflects our human weakness. Invite God into that weak area today and lean on his strength instead of your own.