Is Faith your steering wheel, or is it your spare wheel?

This was a statement made by a gentleman sharing his testimony yesterday morning during church. He put it to us that sadly, many of us Christians, despite "knowing" the truth of the word of God, we don't practice it. Or at least, we don't live as though we know it at all! We inadvertently refer to Faith when we have a crisis. We tend to 'dig deep' in those times because we have no other option, instead of doing what God asks us to - The righteous shall live by Faith. Faith being the substance of things hoped, and the evidence of things not yet seen.

I have struggled with this truth at various times of my Christian walk, and i must admit that a lot of the time when things are going great, i don't consciously live by Faith. However; when I hit a pothole, that's when i tend to draw on that Faith. God gave to each of us a measure of Faith, and He entrusted its growth in our lives, entirely to us. The only way something grows, is if it is fed. Nothing can survive unless it is gaining some form of sustenance. And what is the food that we're supposed to feed our faith? The word of God, our daily bread, the very core and foundation of who we are in Christ, without which we're pretty much hopeless. I know, we've heard this a million times over right? "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing the word of God".

I guess for me the challenge has always been to actually make that conscious, deliberate and purposeful effort each day to do what the word of God says. Instead of resorting to the Faith "Spare Wheel", which i tend to carry around, i should learn to confidently drive the steering wheel of Faith. And this should translate to every aspect of my life, my relationship with God, family, friends, career, ministry etc. I think what this man challenged me to do, was to establish the vision of how I desire things to be in each area of my life, making sure it aligns with the word of God; and then living as though it is already there. Jesus gave us a powerful analogy, that he who is faithful with little, can be trusted to be faithful with much - money, time, talents, gifts, ministry, relationships etc.

Faith touches every aspect of our lives, and we're responsible for whether it is growing in our lives, through the small decisions (as well as the reinforcement of those decisions), and reactions we are faced with everyday. Do my actions say that i am behind the steering wheel of Faith, or is my life in constant crisis that i often resort to the spare wheel all the time? It all starts with a mustard seed...baby steps...