Lifeway Church

God has called each of us to take this journey of faith.  Like in any journey, sometimes we experience some great and amazing things while at other times we wish we could skip over certain moments.  I remember growing up and one summer my dad told the family that he was taking us to Colorado to see the Rocky Mountains for vacation.  I grew up in the plains and gulf coast of Texas and I had never seen mountains in my life so I was so excited to say the least.  Little did I know that in order to get to the mountains, we had to drive through desolate area that is west Texas.  No offense to those of you who live their, but it is kind of boring compared to the Rocky Mountains.  The trip through west Texas seemed to last forever.  I kept on imaging mountains in the horizon but there was nothing except flat terrain.  You see, in this journey of faith, we will go through moments where we feel like we're getting no where but in order to get to mountain tops sometimes we have to go through the flat lands.  It's in those areas of life where our faith is being tested and strengthened.  James said, in James 1, that when our faith is tested that it will produce endurance in our lives.  I know that it's not easy to go through times of testing but it is necessary so that we can grow and get stronger.  Your time of testing is not a time for you to quit and give up but rather a time for you to increase your dependence on God.  As we live out our faith in the real world, our faith will allow us to accomplish great things for God.  We'll feel like we're on the mountain tops, but remember there is no mountain tops without the testing in the flat lands.  Be blessed and hold on to God!