Faith Mantra

I developed a sort of daily mantra, a 'faith mantra' for lack of a better name. For me, it has been an incredible faith-building exercise. Basically, I just ran through four quotes from Bible verses. I tied them together and repeated them whenever I needed a little encouragement. Additionally, I would repeat this practice even in times of happiness and well-being. Many times, I could have collapsed into worry and despair, but I continue to recite my faith mantra and remember that God does everything for a reason. He answers our prayers, but not always in the way we expect. I developed the personal conviction that I would not run to God only during the bad times, but also during the good times.

As to the mantra, this is it:

· He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live

· plans to prosper you and not to harm you

· See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.

· faith as small as a mustard seed

Let's take a deeper look at the passages that these quotes came from and how they relate to each other.

Acts 17:26-27: From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.

For me, this is one of the most important verses to remember. God knows where we live and why we live there. He put us there for a reason - so that we would seek Him.

Jeremiah 29:11-12:For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you."

God has plans for our lives. As a faith-builder, this passage is invaluable. So much so, that it bears repeating: God has plans for our lives. I think that too often we ask the question "Why me, God?" when we are afflicted with pain or loss. It is too easy for us to blame God when bad things happen to us. This passage tells us that, no matter what happens, it is God's plan to give us hope and a future.

When I was a child and I made a mistake, I would get corrected - by my parents at home, by a teacher at school, or just the mistake itself was enough to provide the correction. Often, the corrective action was not a pleasurable experience but it served a purpose.

For example, if you did not study or do your assignments in school, you would not likely pass the next test given by your teacher. Your teacher would then provide a corrective action in the form of a poor grade. A good teacher would try to work with you and determine the reason for the bad grade - was it their fault for not clearly conveying the lesson or was it your fault for simply not doing the work. The teacher's plan is not to make you fail the class, but to educate you so that you can pass. The textbook and a good teacher provide all of the information that we need to pass the test. Should it be discovered that you simply failed to do the necessary work in order to learn the lesson; the teacher may assign additional work for you to do and provide a situation that would give you no choice but to do it - detention! This would not be a pleasurable experience. However, you now would now have two choices: either learn from the mistake and do the assignments, or continue on in the same path and continue to fail.

Similarly, if you have ever burned yourself by accident, then you know the pain that a burn can cause. Perhaps hot oil spattered out of a pan when some water hit the oil and burned your arm. If no one ever told you that ice crystals on frozen food will cause hot oil to spatter when placed in the pan, then you had no way - aside from experiencing it yourself - to know that this would happen. Experience can be a cruel teacher. However, you have learned a valuable lesson in the process. You can choose to keep this lesson to yourself, or you can choose to share your knowledge with others so that they can be spared the pain that you suffered. You could also choose to ignore the lesson and get burned again.

God gives us this same choice. We can either accept that his plan is good and learn from our mistakes in order that we might pass any tests that he provides, or we can ignore the lesson. Should we pass the test, however, we can then move on to another lesson and we are better equipped for life. He allows us to learn valuable lessons that we can then teach to others. As well, he has provided the textbook - the Bible - for us to find the answers.

God has plans for our lives, plans to prosper, not to harm... Why, then, do people suffer from debilitating disease? Why, then, do people suffer the loss of a child? Why, then, do bad things happen to people? I can only answer that I believe that all things happen according to God's plan and that, by having faith in His plan for our lives, the plan will be revealed.

Matthew 6:28-30: "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?"

The 'lilies of the field' don't always have it easy. Flowers and trees are buffeted by strong winds, they are threatened by drought and flood, and don't always deal well with frost and snow. With all this hardship, they still manage to grow and to provide nectar for the birds and bees, beauty for us to appreciate, and - from a scientific point of view - oxygen for us to breathe.

This is not a science lesson, so I won't go into details on ecosystems and such...

This ties in so well with God's plan for us. Let me give you the example of the rosebush. Roses are among the most beautiful of flowers. For some, they are the gold standard by which other flowers are judged. Optimists are said to be looking at life 'through rose-colored glasses.' Roses have long been used to express one's love for another - just head over to the nearest florist around Valentine's Day and you know what I mean.

The rose, like every other natural plant species, is quite capable of growing and flourishing in the wild. They do not require the hand of a gardener in order to survive. However, a skilled gardener can take a rosebush and turn it in to a thing of incredible beauty. A gardener will tend to the rosebush by providing the right balance of nutrients, proper water levels, and adequate sunlight so that it might grow healthy and hardy. A gardener will also transplant a rosebush from an area that is not conducive to its growth to one that is (think about the passage from Acts - 'and the exact places where they should live'). In addition to the care and nurturing, the gardener will cut off the dead blossoms and branches so that the plant can focus its energy on the good, healthy branches.

God is our gardener. He cuts off our dead blossoms so that we can flourish and be that much more appealing to Him. His plan, though it might cause us some momentary pain, is to teach us what is good. He provides us with the things that we need to survive - just like the gardener provides the rosebush with the tools of survival.

Matthew 17:20: He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, `Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

One day, I was sitting at my desk when I saw a grape seed sitting near my keyboard. I don't recall how it got there, but I figured that my children were snacking on some 'seedless' grapes while playing a game on the computer and found one with a seed. Rather than throwing it out, they might have concocted a plan to plant the seed and grow their own grapevine - a plan that they promptly forgot when they were done playing the game. The fact remains that, whatever caused this seed to be there, I discovered it on my desk. The grape seed called this passage to mind as the seed was very small.

While I do not recall ever seeing a mustard seed, I cannot imagine that it is any bigger than a grape seed. Yet something so small is what Jesus tells us can move mountains.

The book of Galatians tells us about the fruit of the Spirit. Faith is one of those fruits, and faith begins as a seed.

So, there it is - my Faith Mantra. Try it on for size. Whenever something happens in your life good or bad - take a step back, repeat the mantra, and try to recognize that God has something planned for you.