August 5th Devotion

Living Transparently in Your Faith
By Liz Lampkin

“For we walk by faith, and not by sight.” - 2 Corinthians 5: 7

Faith. A small word with so much meaning. Faith is the stuff, the things hoped for. It is the evidence or proof of things we want but don’t see. It is believing that the God we serve whom we cannot see exists. It is having confidence that He will keep the promises of His Holy Word. Walking by faith in God is a charge that all believers are challenged with. Every day, we as believers are faced with tests of faith to secure and strengthen our faith in God. As we go through life, many obstacles befall us, and let’s be honest they are not easy to go through or overcome. Many times, when we face challenges of any kind, or when we are given a new assignment from God we have the tendency to smile and pray our way through it, publicly. We show others our strength in the Lord. We show them how “unshakeable” our faith is in Him. However, what we fail to exhibit to other believers and non-believers of Christ are the struggles that come along with faith. We hide our tears, questions and frustrations from others. We conceal and deny our doubts. We mask our fears behind our beliefs.

Why do we do this? Why do we not want others to see where we falter in our walk-in faith? Why do we fail to show others that while we are believers in a very living God, we are still human flesh? Is it pride? Is it a fear of being judged or mis-judged? Is it shame? Is it fear that God will turn His back on us? There may be a number of reasons why we as believers do not live in transparency when it comes to openly sharing our struggles with faith. However, what many of us fail to realize is that struggling in faith isn’t anything new.

Imagine being given away at birth, becoming royalty, becoming a murderer, having a speech impediment and being told by God that you are to free His people from bondage. Moses, the man sent by God to free the Israelites from Pharaoh, struggled with His assignment from God. He constantly gave reasons as to why he could not fulfill His assignment. He did not believe he could do what God instructed Him to do. However, he did.

Imagine having everything you’ve ever wanted: good health, wealth, family. Then suddenly, everything is gone. Everyone around you encourages you to walk away from God, but you don’t. You remain steadfast and unmovable, but you don’t do it without expressing some frustration. God’s servant Job. While he remained firm in his faith, he questioned God, he openly displayed his emotions of pain and anguish for his suffering. He was not ashamed of expressing his struggle with his losses.

These two servants of God had faith in Him, but it was clear that they had moments of difficulty. God is aware of everything we go through before we go through it, and He wants us to be open about our struggles. Here’s why. If we keep our struggles to ourselves, we create a false narrative to believers and non-believers about God. People will believe that our walk with Christ is easy. They will believe that we do not struggle. They will believe that we are always happy. This is not true. Not only this, if we hide our struggles how will that shape our testimony about God’s faithfulness to us? If it appears that Christians do not have challenges in our faith people will become misled in their walk. They will go in blindly thinking that God will instantly solve their problems without struggle. Again, not true. The fact is, that if we don’t struggle in our faith we won’t grow. If we hide our struggles within, we can’t help others see how God works in our lives.

Intersecting Faith and Life:
Do you hide your struggles in your faith or do you share them? Are you ashamed of the fact that you struggle with your faith? If so, why? There is nothing to be ashamed of. We are all humans, saved by faith through Christ. This means we are God’s children. He loves us, but it does not mean that we will not struggle in our walk with Him. The next time you’re faced with a new assignment, or a new obstacle be open about it. Be open about your fears, doubts, and frustrations. You’d be surprised at who’s going through the same things you’re going through and you can help each other. There is no shame in struggle. There is no shame in struggling in your faith in God. If you weren’t struggling with it, then you probably aren’t walking in faith as you should.