In Faith.

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
And do not return there without watering the earth
And making it bear and sprout,
And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater;
So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth;
It will not return to Me empty,
Without accomplishing what I desire,
And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.

- Isaiah 55:10-11 (NASB)

I've had this word stirring in my spirit since our pastor, inspired by the Lord, declared 2012 the year where, "in faith and obedience, we will be His special treasure."

It's a simple word but one that I, more than ever, believe to be true:

it is time that the youth graduate from believing in God to believing God.

To say that you believe in God is to say that you believe in the idea of Him. That you believe He exists, and that's good! God calls us to believe in Him and in His Son who died for our sins. But. What good is a belief in God if we're just going to ignore what He says?

That is all to say, it's time we move from simply having a knowledge that He exists, to living in a state where we know that everything He says is true; where we act on the Word because our faith is one that believes so fully, it requires action. We do what He says because we believe Him. 

Yes, investing all of your faith is hard. It can be scary to trust that much. Thankfully, "God is not a man that He should lie, or a son of man that He should repent." Thankfully, the plans God has for us are good, "plans to prosper and not to harm [us]." Thankfully, "God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."

Let us stop drowning the great promises God has declared over us in doubt. Believe eveything He has spoken over us, youth. Believe that this is our time and our season. Believe Him.