Beyond Blind Faith

These ferns growing out of cracks in the wall in my father's garden
remind me of gentleness, contentment, and simplicity!

When I entered the world of blogging, I entered it with reluctance and hesitation. I have not read blogs before, nor have I imagined ever becoming involved with this medium. Spending time on the internet was not my cup of tea.

Suffice it to say that certain circumstances led me to start a blog, and here I am fourteen months later, still at it.

Slowly I realized that there is a whole universe out here in cyberspace, and if I had never discovered the art of weblogging, I would have missed so many wonderful opportunities to deepen my faith and understand the purposes of God in my own life story.

Keeping an online journal is indeed an art. One has to have lots of discernment and prudence, and know the right balance and mixture between transparency and privacy.

What things can be openly shared? What things have to be kept hidden from public view?

For me, I have always asked God to guide my heart, my mind, my motives, and my words as I write. My aims were simple: in everything, give God the glory, and let my words speak life to any reader who happens to land on my site!

It is the same aim that my husband and I have for our home, which we have named Beulah House - may anyone who enters its doors not leave without receiving a sense of peace, hope, and refreshing.

I love the women (and a few men!) who have become my friends because of blogging. It is true that iron sharpens iron, and because God created us for meaningful relationships, we ache deep inside when our "friendships" become shallow and superficial.

It is my friends who are truly committed to me who have helped me see the path clearly and to think out my faith, making it grow deeper and more relevant.

The same is true of cyber friendships.

In one of my recent posts, I passed on a Sisterhood Blog Award that I received to eight blog "sisters." One of them was Katie.

Katie and I "discovered" each other not too long ago. I have appreciated knowing Katie because in her I have seen someone who takes her faith in God seriously, someone with a deep desire to live in obedience to what the Lord is showing her.

Katie is a writer, a designer, but more than that, I have appreciated Katie's mind. She is a thinker. I have read a number of her previous posts because I want to see what God is doing in her life. In fact I began doing this first with her sister Annie, who has also become another precious blog friend of mine.

It's a rewarding experience, to say the least.

When you discover how God works in the lives of others, it's awesome. You live miles apart, and you have your own set of cultural experiences and upbringing, yet God says the same things! You realize that behind the color of your skin, hair and eyes, you hearts beat for the same desires, your minds think alike, and that God has revealed Himself to all of you under different circumstances, but He has been consistent in what He says about Himself!


A comment Katie made in my last post In Acceptance Lies Peace is my motivation for this day's blog entry.

She wrote:

I'm not sure when I last thought about this, so it's good to be reminded.

It's true. Acceptance does bring peace. Isn't it two-fold, though? We must both accept what God allows and brings into our life, AND accept what He says about us. Accept His truths and His promises as OUR truth.

To accept the first without the second sometimes brings a downward spiral of despair. Or, for others, it causes them to never grow and move on in life. Acceptance of what has happened gives you peace with the past, but no hope for the future.

But to accept the second without the first is to find ourselves struggling with the age-old questions of why a God who promises such wonderful things can allow such difficult things to enter our lives.

To accept BOTH is to acknowledge that the God who loves us more than we can imagine is also the God who knows more than we could ever comprehend. It is to trust that everything in our life is somehow a part of a perfect and beautiful plan that covers both our past and our future. And in THAT acceptance lies peace. At least, that's what I've found!

As I went to sleep last night, I found myself pondering on her words. She has made a good point, and I am grateful that she brought it up.

It is true, acceptance brings peace. But not just any kind of acceptance. We are to live in faith, but not just any kind of faith. And not just any kind of peace, either.

The Bible in 1 Peter 3:15 tells us

"to always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”


Our acceptance of our life circumstances must never mean simple resignation, or bowing to fate.

Or else we become like robots, products of mere chance.

I have begun thinking of my own life of faith again.

If there is one thing I have appreciated in God, it is that He made us creatures of choice. With a free will. With a mind to think, and decide, and to make intelligent choices.

Our intellect, which is part of our soul, should never, never lead the way. The spirit always leads. There are very many so called Christians today who are intellectual Christians. Their intellect dictates how and what they are to believe.

But God never meant it to be that way. The intellect, if subject and obedient to the spirit, becomes a very important tool for the growing of our faith.

Through the years, God has shown me that there is such a thing as contending for the faith, and there is also a time to be still, and let him fight our battles.

Active faith, or passive faith?

Faith, by its very nature, is never passive. Faith is never at a standstill. It always involves movement. I remember one speaker at our church. He said, a life of vibrant faith is like flying an airplane. The plane should always be moving forward. The moment it stops, gravity will begin to pull it down.

Wow, that picture really stuck in my heart.

Some people say they are living by faith, meaning they are trusting God for their provision, or their healing, or their circumstances. But does it mean to just tuck faith into a back pocket, and then sit down to wait and see what God will do to turn things around?

This is tricky, isn't it?

I have since understood that there is really no such thing as a passive faith. Faith, even when it doesn't seem to be doing anything, is still active faith. Believing God for the promises. Trusting that what He said will come to pass.

There are people who wait for their faith to be "fed," by the mentor, the preacher, the care group leader, the pastor, the tele-evangelist ... whoever happens to be around at the moment who is credible enough. Or authoritative enough.

But the writer to the Hebrews says that we are to move on from the elementary teachings, to the more solid ones. A baby does not live on milk all his life. We reach a point when our faith begins to mature, and Bible milk no longer satisfies. We begin to crave for solid teaching, the meat of the word. We want to grapple with the truths we have learned, and we want to go up higher.

A mere acceptance of things as they are is actually dangerous. If our faith is synonymous with a lifeless, mindless acceptance of what God has intended to make us hunger for the deeper things of His heart, then our faith airplane has stopped flying. We are in danger!

A kingdom person seizes every opportunity he has to grow and mature in his faith. There will be seasons when, just like winter, we are required to be quiet, to let the growing take place deep inside, let the roots go down deeply.

March around the city of Jericho without words.

Tell nobody what God has done.

Treasure precious secrets in our heart.

Meditate.

Cultivate the beautiful discipline of inner silence.

Wait for God alone, in that dark and songless night of our soul.

Develop an intimate relationship with Him.

Meet Him in the secret place.

Hope for what cannot be seen, and wait patiently.


The weapons of our warfare are not carnal. These moments of silence are crucial for the maturing of our faith. Seasons when nothing seems to be happening. Times when God tells us to simply "Be still and know that I am God." I would call this the Mary kind of faith.

But there is a season for active faith.

Go up to the battlefront. It's a time for war. A time to gather. A time to build up. A time to throw away.

Dance! Be glad! Rejoice! Shout for joy! Put on the garland of praise!

Pray without ceasing. Claim the promises. Stand on your authority as an heir or heiress of the King.

Take the kingdom of God by force. Declare to the kingdom of darkness that the victory has been won and their time is soon coming to an end.


Both kinds of faith require an agressive, active stand. I wouldn't want my faith to be lame and weak, untested, unproven.

Bob Sorge in his book The Fire of Delayed Answers talks about unbroken faith. Faith that is simply believing in "faith" is presumption. It is unbroken, it will not stand in the heat of the battle!

Oh how grateful I am to be able to say that I have peace, not as the world gives, but as Jesus, the Prince of Peace, gives.

This peace was bought with a price, the precious shed blood of Jesus.

And this peace comes because my faith, which is still being proven in the crucible of my life circumstances, enables me to discern which things are from God and which are from the enemy.

My God is a great God who says that all things work together for good in my life.

There is no pain, or loss, or grief that His love cannot transform and turn into good. And I believe that this "good" is something that is tangible, for the Bible says that we will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

Yes, Katie you are so right! We can accept what happens in our life, because we have first of all accepted that our life is in His hands, and He loves us, and cares for us. Only then does acceptance bring true peace.

But this acceptance doesn't come about if we have not fought for what we believe! The "be-ing" comes before the "do-ing"!

I cried yesterday when I read what Felisol wrote. She said:

...Oh, Lidj, every day a new thing will remember you of Ernie and your great loss. But also that you were blessed with that great love. Many are searching restless through life without finding it.

I hope some day you can see your memories turn into pearls.

I cried because she said it so beautifully.

Yes, what Felisol said is so true. I already have a treasure chest of pearls from all the beautiful memories. Not only from this most recent loss. But also from the many painful things that have happened in the past.

I have already seen the goodness of God in the land of the living!

Dear blog reader, be encouraged today. May your faith in God go beyond blind faith. May it be a seeing faith -- a faith that "sees" beyond what our present circumstances are showing us! May you desire to let your faith grow strong, and mature, and bear fruit to everlasting life!

Let's sing this beautiful song of acceptance, Blessed Be Your Name, by Matt Redman.
(Click here to read the story behind this song.)

Blessed be Your name
In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's "all as it should be"
Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name





My prayer:
Dear Father, I desire to keep growing in my faith in You, faith in what Your Son has done, faith in what you continue to do in my life. May I never be complacent in my faith, may I never be at a standstill. May I keep moving forward, seeking You, hungering for You, thirsting for You, reaching out for You. Even when "I'm losing my song in the night", You will continue to surround me with Your songs of deliverance... Your promised compassion gives me hope, and enables me to wait with patience.