Faithful Deeds Change Lives

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them... As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. - From James 2:14-26

Today’s Reading: Ezekiel 14-15; James 2

I’m in this time of my life where I am really learning the importance of faithful action in a practical way. Sure, I grew up with the knowledge that faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen. My parents taught me to keep asking seeking and knocking, that if I asked for something and believed I would receive it, then I would receive it. They also taught me to work hard and do all that I can do to get what I want.

All that is fine and dandy in theory… It sounds beautiful and nice, like a ray of sunshine. But what happens when you get to the real world?

The real world used to be very discouraging. I worked hard for the longest time but never seemed to reap the proper rewards (in my opinion). Is life really supposed to be about spinning our wheels without getting traction? What am I doing wrong?  How can I progress to the next level of achievement and growth?

I was frustrated for a long time, really until about a year ago. It was at that time that I decided to take small leaps of faith.

I decided to invest my time in things that I felt God telling me to do. I participated in a mentorship program at work that meant extra work without extra pay. I started writing this blog because I felt that I had to even though I knew it would take a lot of time that would take me away from other things that I enjoyed like hanging out with friends and capoeira.

I didn’t see what the rewards would be of those actions but I said “well… ok God… you said to have faith so I will have faith. I hope this works out”.

And let me tell ya… it has. I got promoted at work and even though the writing doesn’t have me sitting on a beach sipping margaritas living the lush life I have received so many blessings through this process.

It is true that when we sow we will reap, but we must sow faithfully. We have to really believe in what we are working towards. My biggest problem was that I didn’t believe because I wasn’t working towards my own goals. I was working towards someone else’s.

A decent part of building faith is having a sense of direction. Even if you don’t know exactly where you are headed, knowing why you are doing the work is key to having the faith necessary to inspire a change in your life.

Otherwise you’ll just go through the motions doing the work, like I did, and get nowhere fast.

What are some things that you have always wanted to do? I bet that if you dedicated time each day toward taking even one step in the direction of achieving those goals you would start to see them materialize in your life.

When I took small steps God made giant leaps. I wonder what will happen now that I have the courage to take giant leaps…