Faith in Action: Living like the bible is true

What if the bible is true? Of course I believe it is, from cover to cover, but I am reminded again to ask the question, ”Does my life show that I actually believe that the bible is true? Do I live in the fullness of the promises of His word, or do I just have head knowledge of what is possible?”

Two years ago we moved from Redding California to the East Coast. We started out with a prophetic word that said it would be ‘easy.’ I imagined that we would sell our house in Redding, buy a new house in New Hope, PA, and, after a fun road trip across, start a new life in our new home. In my mind that included doing fun day trips to New York City and Philadelphia as we got to know our new region. I knew it would be our last summer together as the kids entered a new phase of life. My heart was to build connections and memories that would set us up for the new season of College and internships.

Sadly, my idea of what easy looked like was vastly different than the Lords. Nothing looked like I had imagined and we spent the summer mostly in expensive AirBNB’s, in a place we didn’t want to be. I was confused. I had trusted God and had taken Him at His word and it wasn’t working for me.

Somewhere along the line I realized that this was a ‘me’ problem, not a God problem. Hmmm…I’d better ask what He meant when He said that it would be easy.

As I talked with the Lord, I realized that the biggest part of the issue was that I was letting go my peace because it didn’t look like I had imagined it was going to. I was disappointed that we weren’t having the adventures that I had expected, and I was stressed about how much it was costing us, on top of the fact that our money from the West Coast was not going to stretch as far as we had expected. Oh, me of little faith. I was not living like I believed the bible was true.

If I believed He was as good as He says He is, then I would have known that He had it covered. We found a house just in time. We managed to pay for the house and get set up in our new home, all in time for the kids to be launched from the new base towards their new school and college. In other words…it all worked out okay. In fact it was better than okay. One day I was apologizing to Ben, our son, for the ‘lame’ summer. He looked at me in amazement and started listing all the things we had seen and done. Sure, it was different than I planned, but it was amazing none-the-less. And God had planned things I could never have arranged. And our connection and memories were amazing, even though some of them came through tough situations. God had answered my heart cry in a way I hadn’t anticipated.

My level of stress though indicated that I had trust issues that I hadn’t previously recognized. I wasn’t living like the bible was true in those areas. I needed to lean in to verses that spoke of His faithfulness and goodness, the reality of them, in order to come up higher and live like I believed it. “All things work together for good. He has given us everything pertaining to life and godliness. He will never leave me or forsake me.”

As we continue on our journey, I find myself in that place again. I am so aware of the upcoming bills for University, and for other new ventures. I find myself again in that place of needing to lean in again to remind myself that I am one who believes in the bible and that I want to live like it. I read yesterday about how God parted the Red Sea for the Israelites, how He made it a road for them, and I thought to myself, “Where do I need to see Him part the Red Sea?” I wrote those things in my journal. It was a long list but I am leaning in for Him to show Himself faithful once again, like He has done is every season. And meanwhile, I am going to live like I believe the bible is true. 

How about you?

• What does your level of anxiety say about whether you actually believe the bible?
• Where do you need to lean into His faithfulness and goodness?
• What scriptures speak to your situation? How will you lean on those?

Kingdom Parenting Course:
One of the exciting new ventures for Janine is the launch of her Kingdom Parenting Course. This course aims to help parents navigate the complexities of raising children with biblical principles in today’s world. If you're interested, you can learn more at heaveninbusiness.com/parentiing