Daily Devo: Living By Faith

The first week of homeschooling two kids while trying to make it to all the necessary appointments for the bonus babies and the first day of regular school and having a parent in the hospital is not for the light hearted. So much happening! At one point, I forgot how to spell my own name. Yes, that was a winning moment for me. I have filled out so much paperwork over the past 8 months that my hand should do it for me without my brain even being involved and I'm very disappointed at its lack of help at this point :)
Yesterday was when I normally write my blog, but yesterday was a constant and steady stream of motion. There was no stopping and no resting point. I told myself that today would be the day I sat down to write, but when I rolled out of bed I was too exhausted to form words...and it was only Tuesday. A gallon of coffee, please.
So the boys and I began their Bible work for the day and the theme is over serving God out of faith. I began talking to the boys and reading from Hebrews 11 and I couldn't help but smile. How I needed to be hearing this lesson right now. I choked back the tears and taught my boys from the heart exactly why we do what we do in foster care. I explained to them that we may not be picking up and moving like Abraham did, but we welcome the unknown into our home instead. I was honest about the hardships, but I referred to the list in Hebrews and asked whose life in the list was easy. We don't quit when it's hard. We don't stop because we're tired. We rely on God to fill us and supply us each day and each day He is all we need. We follow by faith every single day. We walk through trials and hardships, tears and joy all "by faith" as Hebrews 11 says. We didn't sign up for this life for any other reason than "by faith". We don't make it through the day by any other reason than by faith. I don't end the day holding on to a shred of sanity by any other means than faith. I'm tellin ya, 8 kids would have done me in if not for a whole LOT of faith.
We talked about how the whole point is to look at the lives of those who are mentioned in that chapter and the life of Christ and ask ourselves if that looks like us. Do we live by faith each day? Would we be willing to say 'Yes' when the future was unknown? Do we trust God because of all He has done and because of all we know HE IS? Essentially, is He alone enough? That question gets complicated and hard when we allow other things to take His place in our heart. When we allow Him to be removed from the center of our lives and we allow our relationship with Him to stop being the most important thing, then we cannot always follow where He leads. Just ask David.
Being a servant of the Lord is not an easy road, sometimes I feel we are afraid to say that out loud. Everyone wants the quick and easy version, the "fast food" life. I don't' want cheap grace or a watered down gospel though. That isn't the message that saves. My challenge to all of you this week is to spend some time in Hebrews 11. How does your life of faith measure up? Where do you need to step up your race to finish well? Where is your relationship lacking? If God called you this very moment to leave it all behind and just follow Him as He did the disciples on the beach (leave it ALL) could you actually do it?