The Source

Living "in" the world today takes many life skills and many spiritual tools.  I have come to realize that in my day to day living, I absolutely cannot function without faith.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  Hebrews 11:1

Faith is having a knowingness that "this" is the way it's going to be in life, even though there is no physical or material evidence to support that belief.  For some, faith is a spiritual confidence and for others it appears as a mental quality that functions in your mind and heart.  Either way, faith is at the epicenter of being spiritually inclined.

Faith can also be a difficult thing to wrestle with because of our distorted human time lines.  I have known people that have had faith in and believed that something was going to happen, but when no signs of confirmation were revealed, guess what?  They lost the faith!  Why?  Because they didn't truly have faith in what they believed was going to happen, it was merely a wish.  A wish, to me, is a feeble hearted attempt to talk yourself into thinking a specific way even though you don't have a deep seated belief in what you are wishing for.  An example would be something like this:
            If you are in a relationship that is struggling due to a lack of communication, you might say to yourself, "I have faith that God can make this right."  A person offering a wish would then leave it be and wait and hope for a change to come.  Conversely, a person truly having faith that it can be righted, would take action in the direction of their faith and beliefs.  This person, knowing in their heart and mind that the relationship ills will be mended, does what is necessary to bring about the evidence of their faith. 

Faith without works is dead in as much as you have to be willing to "act as if" that which you are having faith in or for has already happened and be giving thanks for such results.  To have faith that the Lord can heal your child of a disease does not result from continuous petitioning of the Lord to do so through prayer.  The healing and intervention of the Holy Spirit arises out of: 1) the belief that it can happen and 2) giving thanks for it happening before we see confirmation.  Faith requires action in the direction of our beliefs for it to strengthen and grow.  Much like I can wish that I had big strong muscles and a shapely physique and hope that the Holy Spirit can accomplish such a task, if I am not taking action in the direction of my hopes, or faith, then it is just a wish and it won't happen.  Faith requires having a confidence in knowing the source of all things in my life.

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  John 1:3
...yet for us there is but one God , the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all thing came and through whom we live. 1Cor8:6

God is the fountain head, the source of all things in my life. Without having that knowledge, without that consideration, then faith is empty because it relies on me, and I am nothing.  God is the source in my life.  Here is an example that I learned many years ago that may help:
      I can plant an apple tree in my yard.  I can care for it, water it, prune it and do all that is necessary for it to grow.  With all that I have done to make that tree grow, am I the source of the fruit showing up on the tree?  By all means no.  But where do the apples come from?  Some might say that the source of the apples is the tree itself.  Nope.  The SUPPLY of apples comes from WITHIN the tree.  The genetic qualities and characteristics of that tree are what produce the type, size and shape of the apples on the tree.  But what is the source of the apples?  Who MADE the tree?  God.  God is the source of the apples, or the fruit, as he is the maker of all things.  The tree is where the supply of the apples comes from because God created it that way.

Putting that to use in my life, the supply of joy, love, happiness, abundance and whatever else it is you may desire in your life, is inside of me.  The source of all those wonderful fruits, is God.  And, back to the apple tree, if I don't take actions in the directions of my desires of wanting fruit from the tree (water, prune, trim, etc), it won't produce as much fruit or maybe no fruit at all.  My actions are necessary even though I may hope or wish for the tree to produce fruit. The same is true with my life.  If I have faith in God being the source of all things, and I have faith that He placed all that I need, want and desire within me (as Jesus said, "The Kingdom of Heaven is within.") then I must take action, based on my faith to see the fruits of my faith, confidence and belief in God.  There is only one source for all of your needs, wants and desires in this life and He so desperately wants to know you and loves more than you can comprehend.  Open your mind and your heart to the one source.