(If you missed Part 1,click here to read it first so you can get caught up with the story.)
On a cold, January morning, I was ready for a fresh start. I almost want to say I was defeated, but it was a prayerful decision of wanting to change.
Not a giving up, but a giving over.
Again, tearfully sitting on the floor, but this time not beside myself with overwhelming emotions, God and I had our moment.
It was a calm surrender.
The heartache was still there, but the resolve stronger.
Through quiet tears, I dedicated that year to God and named it my “Year of Faith”.
- I told God I trusted Him, and would follow Him, and serve Him no matter what.
- If He chose to answer YES to “the answer I desperately wanted”– awesome!
- If He said no— than I would choose to trust that He was more than enough.
It was my declaration of:
I trust your character more than I trust my circumstances.
And …
Nothing in my circumstances had changed, yet everything changed.
That day, I started a brand new journal where I was going to track God through my year of faith.
I asked God to show me how to grow in faith and I would document it.
One of the first verses I wrote in my journal was Hebrews 11:6 (NIV)
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists AND that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
The Passion translation says it this way:
He rewards the faith of those who give all their passion and strength into seeking him.
In other words …
The reward is more of Him.
THAT’S what I wanted more than anything—more of HIM.
I would also jot down definitions of faith such as:
- Loyalty
- Complete confidence
- Courage
- Bold trust.
And I LOVED writing down quotes about faith such as:
Learn the adventure of watching my will unfold. (Dean)
or,
Faith isn’t faith until it’s all you’re holding on to.
Journaling my unfolding faith story (Tracking God) became what anchored me that year. Documenting my faith led to “a-ha” moments with God— moments of, “I see what you just did there!”
My year of faith resulted in some amazing, SURPRISING answers, and I was BLOWN AWAY by God’s goodness to me throughout that year.
And…
More than that, God did an intimate work in my life that was a direct result of choosing to look for more of Him no matter HOW He chose to grow my faith.
I’ve tracked many things over the last decade, and even through times of loss, I KNEW God was with me because I made a space to look for Him.
What if this next week you opened up space in your life to SEE, really see God at work?
What might that look like for you?
💗 Here are some ideas that have worked for me … pick one to try in the next week.
1. What if the next time you start to feel anxious and worried you take a moment to pause.
Acknowledge your feelings (again: enneagram 6, HSP, ISFJ) AND then have your moment with God about them.
And when you think about “the answer YOU desperately want”—
2. What if you had a place where you wrote down the date with a sentence or two about choosing to trust God.
Or …
3. Maybe simply say, “God, I choose to trust you with this and I’m looking for you today. Open my eyes to see glimpses of You throughout this day.”
You know, I’ve grown a lot since that January– My Year of Faith.
My turn-around time is much quicker these days because of a tracking God mindset.
Each time I start a new tracking page, it’s my way of telling God, I KNOW you see me, and I want you to know … I. See. YOU.
Friend, I’m praying for you— praying that you’ll have many moments of seeing God at work in your life. And I’d love to hear from you (seriously… I really, really would!).
