Testing Faith

     I was in a substance abuse class earlier and one of the forum questions was, "Why is it important for your recovery to have a spiritual component"?  One of the gentlemen responded by saying his faith is tested when he's going through rough times in his life.  That statement made me think about faith in general.  In my experience, I've found that my faith is tested when things are going good in my life.  I use to have a tendency to forget why things were going so well in my life.  My prayer life would become nearly non-existent because things would be going so well.  I would forget to thank the Father for all of the blessings He had given me and I would operate in my own power.  And then, pow, right in the kisser!  Everything would fall apart and I would be back at square one or worse.

     See, having faith isn't just about believing in and praying to The Father when you need something or when times are hard.  It's about giving praise to The Father for everything, all the time.  When things are going good, give praise.  When things are going bad, give praise.  Give praise in everything you do and be thankful for everything you have, even if you're homeless, have cancer, in prison, lost a loved one, hit the lottery, found a friend or whatever the case may be.  Give praise and Our Father and Lord Jesus Christ will reward you with His Grace!