Sunflower Faith

Today, I stepped out in faith and in fear and awe in what God has done in and through and for me.

Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform [it] until the day of Jesus Christ: Philippians 1:6 (KJV)

I’m pretty shy and introverted; I fear rejection; I fear judgment; I’m a people-pleaser because I don’t want to get hurt or feel hurt or made to feel less than what I really am.

There are days I smile when inside, I feel like I’m running around in circles with my hand thrown  up in the air and days when I feel that I’m only giving ten percent of myself to our Heavenly Father then the hundred percent I really want, but I don’t….because I’m afraid.

We all feel that way don’t we.

That we will be judged.

We will lose favor or friends.

So rather than take that leap of faith with and for our Heavenly Father, we hide inside and outside.

In many cases in Scripture, fear is contrast to the fearlessness of faith in a trusting God who is in control. Rooted in sin, fear strikes at the heart of faith. It denies God’s gracious control and guidance while panicking in a pervasive sense of being out of control.

Addressing the “fear” issue strikes at the root of our sinfulness. If the perfect love of Christ casts out all fears, then the Gospel of Christ which has overcome fear and its author must be preached clearly, boldly and repeatedly.-from Nothing to Fear

There comes a point and time in our lives, that we can’t forever be in a cocoon.

This doesn’t mean we go out and do as the world does and be like the world is, but that neither can we build up a bubble of our faith and expect to live in it forever till our Heavenly Father comes back.

Being a Christian is a living faith; Not just about proclaiming that we are Christians but experiencing and sharing our faith and not deciding when we will or will not share our faith.

That’s like having an unlimited bag of cookies then picking and choosing who we will and will not share it with.

Imagine if our Heavenly Father had done that, instead He threw out a net to catch EVERYONE, not just a select few, but everyone.

There gets to a point that when we ask God to grow us, to challenge us, we can’t set limits, but instead have to trust Him and let Him guide us, and yes, He is going to put us in uncomfortable situations, but He isn’t going to put us in situations that He already knows how it is going to play out and it’s not like He isn’t going to see us through to the end either.

Praise Him, that He isn’t going to stop midway and go…well…you’re on your own now, see you at the end.

I was surprised at the leap of faith I took and what I did and said and it was not comfortable and it was out of my shell, but I felt like He was just telling me, “No more security blanket, time to start taking those steps”.

I fear rejection.

I fear being hurt.

I fear people will turn me off and out and will reject me, but I do fear God more and of Him tuning me out and off and rejecting me. I can leave with people doing that, but not God.

I’m a people pleaser and I can tell God doesn’t work with that.

And that’s okay.

Actually that’s great.

He wants more from us and for us, but we have to play our part by giving that to Him and realize, it may not win us a popularity contest, but it will win us to Him when we show we care more about Him and trust Him more.

This isn’t about pleasing anyone. Men is sinful-We got ourselves in a mess so how do we expect others to fix what is broken if they are broken too….

Men is more fickle then the seasons. Ourselves are ever changing as the weather and look at our fashions…no season is ever the same…always changing…what was right today is wrong tomorrow.

Even the rules are not set in stone and what was okay yesterday,is no longer okay today.

So why based approval on fickleness when God is always steady?

Webster defines “firm” as not subject to change or revision, not easily moved or disturbed,resolute.

Webster defines “fickle” as deceitful, inconstant; marked by a lack of steadfastness, constancy or stability: given to erratic changeableness.

Galatians 1:10 (ISV)

Am I now trying to win the approval of people or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be the Messiah’s servant.

As much as I worried about being disliked or spit upon by men, I worry more about what our Heavenly Father has to think; It’s HIM, Iwould be forever accountable to and not to men.

I won’t say that talking and sharing like I did was easy.

People are fickle.

We smile and nod, but then often times show a different face when we think that no one is looking but forget that others may not see, but our Heavenly Father does.

Matthew 5:16 (NIV)

Acts 4:29-31 (NIV)

Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. tretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

People do get ugly and mean and even vengeful or gossipy; Trouble is that people are also troubled if others don’t go with the “status quo” and feel a need to “reign in others” that make them feel uncomfortable or accountable.

Not to say everyone is perfect either.

You, me, everyone, we’re all imperfect and the ONLY perfect person is  our Heavenly Father, but it also doesn’t mean we have a right to be mean, ugly, or gossipy with intent to hurt or slander.

These things I have Spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. -John 16:33

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthews 5:10-12 (ESV)

It’s difficult to get out of our comfort zone, but to really let God grow us as He wants to grow us, that’s a chance we always have to take.

There are days we are going to be wrong, and there are days when it seems we are just hitting the notes right, but praiseGod, that He knows we are imperfect and He loves  us for that.

He wants us, not perfection.

If He wanted perfection…well, He is our Heavenly Father and can do that, but He doesn’t.

Instead, He seeks other ways via refining us like silver to get the impurities out and part of that is that we can’t live with one feet in this world, and one feet in His world, while holding on all the garbage in and not letting it out so we can be cleaned from within yet wonder why our lives just isn’t right, because we won’t take out the garbage and let the fresh air in.

He can’t be fooled.

Hebrews 4:12

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.

Jeremiah 17:10 (NIV)

“I the LORD search the heart   and examine the mind,    to reward a man according to his conduct,   according to what his deeds deserve.”

I can’t keep fearing more what men has to think then what God has to think; God did not give us a spirit of fear.

He does not give us fear of growth based on “What will so and so think or do or say about me?”

If we live a life more afraid of judgement by others, than about our Heavenly Father and that includes being afraid of being vocal about who we are and what we believe…How are we able to really grow.

So I actually felt bolder to speak about my heart and my faith and I realized….that those who are friend, will truly be there, but those that arent’.

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity but one of power, love, and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7 (ISV)

We are not here on earth to serve them or to please them; We are here to serve our Heavenly Father first, before them.

People will not always agree with what is said, but trouble is…do we change our words to please men, or do we seek to please God first and foremost?

“He that loveth father or mother MORE than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter MORE than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh NOT his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.” (Matt 10:37-38)