Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 554 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Faith – The Tools in Gramps’ Backpack

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 554 of our trek, and we are hiking a series of trails called The Tools in Gramps’ Backpack.

Each Monday for a total of 20 weeks we are exploring a different tool that is needed to equip parents and grandparents to train their children and grandchildren to be successful on their trek of life. If you don’t have children or grandchildren of your own, you can use these tools to train others that you do influence. Today the ninth tool from Gramps’ Backpack is Faith. 

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. Life, at times, can be very uncertain. The economy rises and falls, the world’s political environment is always changing, marriages and families struggle, and most media outlets spew negative propaganda on the right and the left in their 24/7 news cycles. That is why it is so important for us to have a strong foundation and belief system that we can teach to our children, grandchildren, and everyone that we impact. One of the most valuable tools in our backpack is the tool of…

Faith

Faith is an indispensable tool that should be found in your backpack…But what is faith, and how is it used in our lives? The Bible describes faith in this way in Hebrews 11:1, “Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.”

This helps us to grasp the concept of faith, but how do we apply it in our lives?

Every life, including yours, is a series of successes and failures, celebrations and disappointments, joys and sorrows. With a strong belief system and foundation for life, you can come to realize that every step of the way, through every triumph and tragedy, God will stand by your side and strengthen you…that is if your faith is in Him. Jesus taught His disciples that if they had faith, they could move mountains. You can too…even if it is one stone at a time.

An example of faith is found in Matthew 9:22 where a suffering woman believed that she would be healed by merely touching the hem of Jesus’ cloak. The verse says, “Jesus turned around, and when he saw her he said, ‘Daughter, be encouraged! Your faith has made you well.’ And the woman was healed at that moment.”

The message to Christ followers of every generation is clear. We must live by faith today and every day.

When you place your faith, your trust, and indeed your very life in the hands of Jesus Christ, you will be amazed at the marvelous work that he can do with you and through you. Faith is like a muscle. It can be strengthened through use. Some of our faith exercises can be praise, worship, Bible study, and prayer. We must have the faith to trust that God desires what is best for us so that we can best reflect His image. This does not mean that we will be without pain, sorrow, and disappointments. Even James, the half-brother of Jesus understood this when he wrote in his letter in James 1:2-4, “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.”

As you grow in faith, you will come to realize that with God, all things are possible and that He stands ready to open a world of possibilities to you. The way you please God is through growing faith as it tells us in Hebrews 11:6, “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.”

Your faith should not change based on your current circumstances or moods, but be firmly rooted in God as your foundation. C. S. Lewis put it this way, “Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods. For moods will change. That is why Faith is such a necessary virtue: unless you teach your moods ‘where to get off,’ you can never be either a sound Christian or even a sound atheist, but just a creature dithering to and fro, with its beliefs really dependent on the weather and the state of its digestion. Consequently one must train the habit of faith.”

This is why it is so important to both teach and demonstrate solid faith to your children, grandchildren, and everyone that you impact. That is why the Prophet Isaiah tells us in 7:9, “Unless your faith is firm, I cannot make you stand firm.”

Faith needs to become part of the very fabric of your life. You must come to the point where you can say, “I do not want merely to possess a faith; I want a faith that possesses me.” You can grow in your faith as you exercise it and as it becomes a habit in your life. It is then you will come to the realization that faith is not merely holding onto God. It is also God holding onto you.

With these thoughts in mind, we will conclude our trek for today and close Gramps’ backpack. Before I do, I will pass the tool of Faith onto you. Once you have this tool in your backpack, it is up to you to choose to grow in faith, to demonstrate a strong faith, and to teach faith to others through word and deed. When you possess this kind of faith, regardless of your circumstance, you can have a life that is both rich and satisfying. Teach this faith to your children, grandchildren, and everyone that you impact.

Next Monday we will investigate the tenth tool in Gramps’ backpack, which is Patience. On tomorrow’s trek, we will explore another wisdom quote. This 3-minute wisdom supplement will assist you in becoming healthy, wealthy, and wise each day.

Thank you for joining me on this trek called life. Encourage your friends and family to join us, and then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.

As we take this trek of life together, let us always:

1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
2. Love Unconditionally
3. Listen Intentionally
4. Learn Continuously
5. Lend to others Generously
6. Lead with Integrity
7. Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow!