How to Make a Better You – What is Genuine Faith?
By Nina Sabin - Healthy Tip
Before I begin with this blog, those who have been following us may have wondered where we have been and what happened to the weekly Healthy Tips. Well, once we were not completely home bound and things opened back up, we needed some time to enjoy the outdoors. We live in a golfing community and we have been daily enjoying the opportunity to golf and play other outdoor games. Now, I am rested up and ready to share more tips on how to have a better life. Actually, our new slogan is Healthy Living from the Inside Out. We will start with Genuine Faith as part of that Healthy Living.
How do you know if you have Genuine Faith? First it starts with believing. Ask yourself what do you believe? Do you believe in God? Do you believe He is in control of your life? Or do you think everything just happens by chance?
Everyone believes in something, even when they say they don’t. You have faith that your car will start in the morning. You have faith that the chair you are sitting on won’t break. You have faith that the food you are eating isn’t spoiled. In fact, you generally don’t even take a second thought about it. We are designed to have faith. The problem at times is we lose faith due to circumstances that happen in our life that are unexplainable and often unbelievably painful physically and/or emotionally.
Then instead of turning to God for love, support, encouragement, and help getting through the situation; we blame Him and turn away from God which only makes our life worse. We become angry, bitter, frustrated, and often want to give up. But that isn’t the answer and it isn’t how God planned us to live our lives.
We can experience the fruits of the Spirit which are: love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, kindness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). We all aspire to these traits and want to receive these characteristics from others. Jesus is our example of these character traits. We may not be able to do them perfectly as He did, but the more we practice them, the more they become a part of our lives.
2020 has been a year of unexplainable events and circumstances with Covid 19 and the riots. Focusing on them will only lead to misery and hurt; however, focusing on God will give you those Spiritual Fruits as well as freedom from the frustrations of the world. Nothing is a shock to God. He knows what is going on in the world. We many not know why He allows things, but believing and trusting gives us peace. There are too many unexplainable things in the world that we can’t understand or control, but faith gives us hope and belief that things will improve and be even better than before.
For the past 11 weeks, I have been doing a Bible study with some ladies in my community via social distancing on Zoom. The study is on the book of James and focuses on nine topics of what Genuine Faith means. The study is by Jen Wilkin and she provides a podcast and study guide at no cost. If you want to grow stronger in your faith and really develop Genuine Faith, then I recommend you explore this study.
Through this study of the book of James, I learned so much about myself and how I can grow stronger and deeper in my faith by following these nine Genuine Faith guidelines Jen mentions in her study.
1. Genuine Faith Preservers in Trials
2. Genuine Faith Resists and Flees from Temptation
3. Genuine Faith is Actively Obedient to the Word
4. Genuine Faith Does Not Discriminate
5. Genuine Faith Bears the Fruit of Good Works
6. Genuine Faith Chooses Words with Care
7. Genuine Faith Hates the Wisdom and the Ways of the World
8. Genuine Faith Submits to God’s Will
9. Genuine Faith Speaks with Integrity
If you truly want to become the best person you can be - being more like Christ's example, try to memorize these traits. You'll be amazed how they will automatically become a part of your life, how you will have more peace, and how you will feel fulfilled in your life by practicing these characteristics.
I continue to pray for your growth in your relationship with God and that there is no other person or thing that matters as much having God in the center of your life. With Him anything is possible. Have a blessed month, remember praying is your communication with God, do it daily and be not only hearers but doers of the Word. Love you my precious friends. God Bless!
Check out our Focus on Freedoms groups page - https://cutt.ly/Mi4gZQn and read our new monthly post about how to have Genuine Faith. With Genuine Faith you will learn to have a true peaceful and fulfilled life.
If you would like to know more on how to develop Genuine Faith, I am available to chat and pray with you. As a healthy life coach I am able to give you the support and accountability you desire. I am also here to help you understand how important, especially during these uncertain times, how much you need God in your life. Contact me at focusonfreedoms@gmail.com or directly on our contact page. I will respond within a 24 hours.