Happy Easter Everyone!
This morning, while celebrating life, sacrifice, and resurrection, the greatest gift to us, I found myself reflecting on my journey, and my “why".
God has always provided me with signs along the way which have ultimately led me to where I am today. In 2019 I had the opportunity to speak to over 400 leaders of a large district here in Texas. During a break in my presentation, a lady approached me and placed a rock in the palm of my hand. I didn’t know what to think at first. On the black marbled rock, the word “faith” was etched in white letters across the middle. She said she placed it in her purse before coming to the event and didn’t know why she had done so. She said she knew it was meant for me after hearing my message. That word became my motivation for the year and continues to inspire me today. Now as we celebrate Easter, I wondered how does trust differ from faith?
We often use trust and faith interchangeably, but they do carry different meanings, and yet they are intrinsically connected. To trust is to hold a firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability or strength of someone or something. Think of someone that you are close to. You may trust someone with everything, and others with only certain things. Trust requires a level of closeness, or a certain development in a relationship.
You can’t have faith without trust. But what is faith?
Faith is defined as having complete trust or having confidence in someone or something. Scripture defines faith as “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” If you take these two meanings, you realize that Faith goes beyond trusting. If someone tells you they trust you, isn’t it often situational? It could be trust to keep a secret, to perform a task, or to be honest with you, but what does it mean to have faith in someone? To me, having faith in someone is trusting and believing in their potential, even if they haven’t fully reached it yet. Faith is trusting in your purpose, trusting in God’s plan for you, and acting accordingly. You can’t have faith without trust, and you can’t have trust without a relationship or connection. Trust leads to faith, and faith carry’s the beauty of hope.
Today, I want to pass my shiny rock on to you, and challenge you to trust in yourself, to have faith in God’s plan for you, and to walk with purpose as you discover your “why".
Have Faith!
Niki Spears
