And that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 3:15
Summer is hands down my favorite season of the year. I grew up in tropical Uganda where the weather does not have mood swings. We enjoy sunny weather all year round and so it took some adjusting to when I moved to Vancouver, Canada. Specifically, I love and look forward to that warm period right before school goes on break when the parks are empty during the day, the sun is shining, and the warm weather has begun. Any homeschooler will tell you that one of the things they love about homeschool is having parks and playgrounds to themselves during school and work hours.
Taking full advantage of this season of warm sunny weather means you will find us at the water park every weekday. However, we have not been finding good parking spots at the splash park this particular week. So today on the drive here I took a step of faith and asked the children to pray to God that He would provide a good parking space for us at the splash park. I quietly said in my heart, please Lord, hear these children’s prayer and answer it so they may know and taste for themselves that God hears them when they pray and answers when He hears. Let this be another solid stone in their foundation of faith in You. One they can always look back on to have the confidence to call on You for both “big” and “small” things. To have that tested assurance that their God is a loving Father who will grant them the desires of their heart because they delight in You and trust You.
Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. Psalm 37:4-5
I’ll admit that I was skeptical a little, wondering if I had just set myself up. Questions like wow, what if there is no parking? Why did you ask them to pray? Are you sure? It’s going to be terrible for their trust in God if it doesn’t work out. The doubt was really starting to build up I tell you. Then I quickly decided: no! Not today Satan! Those who trust in the Lord shall never be putting shame! My God is able! I choose to take this step of faith because without faith it is impossible to please God. (Hebrews 11:6)
And guess what? True to the amazing God we serve there were plenty of good parking spots available for us to choose from. The children exclaimed with glee: look at all the nice parking spots Mummy! Thank You Jesus for answering our prayers!!!! I asked them to thank God in prayer for answering their request. It is important that we return thanks and praise to God with the same vigor and zeal with which we made the request in the first place. Hallelujah! God is so good. Thank You for not letting me be ashamed Jesus, I whispered, feeling really blessed and encouraged that I took that step of faith today. It wasn’t just the children’s faith that grew, but mine as well. I’ve heard it been said that just like a muscle, the more we work and exercise our faith in God, the more it will grow and strengthen. I tasted this today and whet my appetite for faith.
Is there a step of faith that God is asking you to make? Be encouraged that the One who calls you is faithful to His promises. And those that put their trust in the Lord shall never be put to shame. The Bible is full of ordinary everyday people like you and me who took steps of faith because they knew their God and judged Him faithful. The Bible says these people pleased God very much for no other reason than that they had faith in Him.
But without faith it is impossible to [walk with God and] please Him, for whoever comes [near] to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He rewards those who [earnestly and diligently] seek Him. Hebrews 11:6
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