The Faith to be Still

As we know "faith without works is dead" (James 2:4). Expecting to get what we want without doing our part causes us to claim that we have great faith and a positive mental attitude, when in actuality all we have exercised is wishful thinking. However, there comes a time, after all that we can do when we must have the faith to be still and know that everything will fall into place and work out for the best. When we desire long term and far reaching benefits we must sometimes place enough of our faith to be still in those we lead, those we choose to follow, and in the Lord.

FAITH IN THOSE WE LEAD

Effective leaders and parents understand the power of training their replacements. They model, teach, and observe as they turn over the stewardship and step away. Instead of believing that if you want something done right you have to do it yourself, decide to believe that if you want something done right you must effectively train a proper replacement.

 Effective leaders and parents understand the power of training their replacements. [Tweet this]

My mom did this with my brothers and sisters when it came to household chores. My dad did this effectively by teaching me where he goes to find answers to his questions rather than just giving me the answers himself. During the training period we weren't always perfect or as proficient as they were. They encouraged us and showed, however, that they had faith in us by not taking over or completing the jobs for us. Over time we became wise stewards and just as proficient, and in some cases even more skilled than they were. Through their faith in us our confidence and abilities increase and they now had one less responsibility to take care of themselves.

FAITH IN THOSE WE CHOOSE TO FOLLOW

The first step in having faith in those who lead us is identifying if they are even worth following. Good leaders have the best interest of all they lead in mind. They know where they are going, have a vision of the end result and big picture and share that with you. They see how each individual moving part works together. More importantly they know where to turn if they do need help as well. To me being able to identify whether a leader is worth following would be to see what kind of faith they require from us to be led. Do they require blind or true faith.

Good leaders have the best interest of all they lead in mind. [Tweet this]

Blind faith says things like "don't ask why" or "just do as you're told" and "don't worry about the details." It discourages questions while stifling growth and understanding. On the other hand, true faith encourages questions while increasing vision, knowledge, and purpose.

Once we know who to follow, we need to trust that they will take us where we want to go. When we have faith in those who lead us, we stop trying to tell them how to do their job and we stop trying to do it for them. As a result we are better able to fulfill our own responsibilities and work together to get where we're going.

FAITH IN THE LORD'S WAYS & TIMING

Most of our righteous desires involve the cooperation of others. We can only control ourselves. When we want something badly enough we tend to do everything that we can to convince everyone involved to help us attain it. In doing so, we sometimes end up pushing them away. However, the Lord knows all things and He knows us each individually. He not only wants the best from us, He also wants the best for us. In order for this to happen He sometimes requires that we be still and have faith in His ways and timing.

He knows, far better than we do, how to prepare the minds and hearts of those involved in what we are praying and working for. When the Lord asks us to have faith enough to be still, it is our job to stop trying to play God in our attempts to control everything. We are to instead continue to pray to God and be prepared to act once given further instructions.

Being still requires patience, do not confuse it with procrastination. [Tweet this]

When we have enough faith in the Lord to be still, we prevent ourselves from creating unnecessary obstacles that delay our receiving the very things we've been praying for in the best way possible. The patience is more than worth it!

Is it worth it for you to have the faith to be still or would you rather take on the extra stress and responsibilities to be in control? Where does one cross the line from being patient to just procrastinating?