Springing Forward Part 1

By the look and feel of the weather today, you would not think that spring has sprung.  The reality is that it has sprung and it is officially spring!  As of March 20th (also my sweet grandmother's 86th birthday), winter transformed into spring.  Allow me to get spiritual for a moment. This reminds me of the scripture that states: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen", Hebrews 11:1. Just as there were snowflakes on my windshield this morning when going to work and the calendar on my phone stated that it was the 5th day of April, so it is with having faith. My confidence in the changing of season causes me to hope for warmer weather. Eventually, the temperature will reflect the true season. However, spring is not waiting for warmer temperatures. Regardless of how a situation may look in the natural, the reality of that situation is determined spiritually.

It would not have done me any good to debate and argue that it was winter outside just because there were flurries.  There were too many other factors that overruled the precipitation. I'm not a scientist or meteorologist, but I remember from elementary science that the weather is dictated by the rotation of the sun, planets, etc. The snowflakes today did not change the date back to December 5th, although it felt like it. Instead, I adjusted my mind, told myself that I was not crazy, put on a coat, and I proceeded to turn on the seat warmer and heat, to high!  

The same is necessary with making adjustments with our faith.  When a situation or circumstance does not appear the way you hoped or planned, use real faith to make adjustments. First, what lens are you using? Is it with your natural eye or spiritual eye that you are looking at your situation? Next, you may need to refocus and adjust your lens.  To get spiritual results you must use spiritual techniques.  There are so many examples in the Bible to support this fact.  However, I am reminded of David (soon to be King David) as he prepared to fight Goliath, the giant.  King Saul wanted to give him all of his stately and powerful weapons to use in defeating this bold and audacious giant. Instead, David took a slingshot and 5 rocks and knocked Goliath's lights out! The young, inexperienced, and ruddy David knew that in order to win the battle with Goliath, he had to rely on the power of God. Can you imagine how that looked? For sure it would be the making of a fantastic action movie, but I'm no Steven Spielberg!  Plainly, King Saul and David had different outlooks on the same situation. Naturally speaking, one outlook and plan would have killed David. Spiritually speaking, the other outlook and plan killed Goliath! What you focus on, or even better, WHO you focus on will determine your success. For us today, using the Word of God is a fierce and mighty weapon. "And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God", Ephesians 6:17. 

For now, I would like to end by encouraging you to refocus your faith lens. Take your eyes off of the situation as it looks with your natural eye.  Instead, look to your Heavenly Father for clarity. Hebrews 12:2a encourages us to do this: "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith". In this passage, one interpretation is to "fix your eyes on Jesus".  This was so powerful to me when I studied this.  When we fix or fasten our eyes on our Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, our sight is nothing less than clear.  If we are going to succeed in faith, we have to look to the creator of faith! Recently, I was again encouraged by Proverbs 3:5-7: "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil." This is just another example of how important it is not to rely on your natural senses when working out your faith. Having faith in God guarantees the best results. 

In closing, if tomorrow there is more snow, it will not prove to me that it is winter. Instead, I will readjust by putting on my boots, mittens, and scarf still confident that it is April 6th and it is SPRING! 

Keep the faith, you are victorious by design!

Your Faith Coach,
Victoriously, Nicole!



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King James Version