Are you having trouble giving God the benefit of the doubt?

Maybe you’re staring at a mountain, wondering how to keep believing and trusting God will move it when you aren’t feeling it.

I was there just a few weeks ago.

Fortunately, we are not helpless in our discouragement.

Faith itself is a gift from God, but we get to participate.

So when the flames of your faith feel small, it’s time to move closer to the fire.

A surefire way to do this is recalling God’s past faithfulness in your life and thanking Him for it.

I sat down, committed to trotting out a list of 10 itemized reasons to thank God.

Sigh.

I told myself that anyone can do that.

God lit His initial fire in my life when He called me to Him. But I get to help fan the flame.

God met me in my recent discouragement.

My written list grew, filling pages and pages of recounting God’s past goodness to me.

It was raw and moving and exhillarating, all at the same time. It was the Holy Spirit, fanning the flames of my faith.

By the time I was finished, I could have run through a wall. My faith felt like a bonfire–which was nothing to do with my faith and everything to do with our mighty God.

Return to your rest, my soul.

The Lord has been good to you.

His track record is flawless.

Move in closer to that fire.

Go over God’s history in your life.

Remind yourself of God’s blessings this past year.

Stoke that fire.

Recall God’s unchanging qualities.

Preach to yourself.

Fan that flame.

Review God’s grace in your life just today or even this past week.

Thank God for how He’s working.

Keep fanning.

God will meet you here.

Those faith flames, ignited by close proximity to and a gaze fixed on our God, will engulf you and that mountain.

Is faith work? Absolutely.

We get to participate, however, and we never do it alone.

But you will never increase that fire by fixating on “your” faith instead of our faithful God.

“Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.

They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.'”

Lamentations 3:21-24 (NIV).

“Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.”

Psalm 116:7 (NIV).

“For this reason, I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.  For the spirit God gave us does not make us timid,  but gives us power, love and self-discipline.”

2 Timothy 1:6-7 (NIV).

Allow me to me to present to you the Holiday Spice Flat White. While the holidays are over,  you can still procure one from Starbucks if you work hard enough. 😉

Now, you’ll have to excuse me from being derelict in my timely blogging. We’ve been running this horrifying monster called CROUP right out our front door while screaming at him to never set foot on our doorstep again.

So from this tired mama to you: drink up that caffeine.

Much love to you,

Paige