Staying in the Faith Lane

Introduction

Welcome to My Thoughts and the sixth of eight segments of our Faith for the Believer series. In previous segments, I have talked about the measure of faith, uncommon faith, the aggressive nature of faith, the seven steps to grow your faith, and tips and steps to keep and share your faith. In this segment, Staying in the Faith Lane, I will discuss five little-known secrets to help you stay in the lane of faith.

Let’s start out talking about when you get on the highway either traveling to work, visiting family or friends, or going to your favorite vacation spot. When you jump on a three-lane highway, you have a choice. You can drive in the slow lane, cruise along in the middle lane, or move over to the fast lane.

In life, you also have choices regarding which lane to travel on. You can hang out in any of the following lanes:

• The cynical or negative lane
• The “safe” lane
• The waiting-for-everything-to-fall-in-your-lap lane
• The guarded lane
• The angry and bitter lane

There is one more lane, the “faith lane.” It cruises at an altitude much higher than the others, ignores the “directions” the world gives, and dares to believe for more. The best part of this lane is it always arrives at its destination on time.

If you’ve been stuck in the bad traffic of life, it’s time for you to change lanes and get into the “faith lane.” So, here we go with the five little-known secrets to staying in the lane of faith guaranteeing to get you to your destination, which is victory through Jesus!

1. Choose Life

“I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.” –Deuteronomy 30:9 (NKJV)

When you wake up each morning, you’re going to travel into a lane of life. Some people start their day grumbling about how tired they are, how they don’t want to go to work, or expecting things to go just as they always have. They are traveling in the slow lane of life.

Instead, God tells us in Deuteronomy 30:19 to “choose life,” so we can put our signal on and change into the faith lane. How do we choose life? Our verse tells us these three simple things:

• Love God: To love God is to receive His love for you, love others and obey Him.
• Walk in His ways: Get off walking in the world’s ways and put time aside each day to study God’s Word. You will find how and what it looks like to walk in His ways and live in the right standing with God.
• Keep His commandments, statutes, and judgments: This means all of them! If you attend church and tithe but attack people verbally or become angry easily, you’re not keeping the greatest commandment, to love others. We are not called to be perfect in the human sense, but we are called to be perfect in the biblical sense. To become spiritually mature.

When you choose life, you’re choosing to be victorious! You will wake up with a spirit of expectancy about the day. You know it’s going to be a great day because the Lord is with you and He has great plans for your life!

2. Speak Only Life Giving Words

“But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord.” –James 1:6-7 (NKJV)

On a two-lane road, you can go one direction or the other, but you can’t go both ways at the same time. In this situation, you have to pick a lane. In life, if you want to stay in the lane of faith, it is critical you speak only life-giving words.

Your words are the steering wheel of your life. When you speak God’s Word over your life, it propels you farther down the lane of faith toward victory in your situation. On the contrary, every time you speak negativity, doubt, unbelief, fear, self-pity, or defeat you make a U-Turn and start driving the other way from everything you want. No one likes to backtrack on a road trip, and it is no better on the way to your victory.

Stay in the lane of faith by making sure everything you say agrees with what God says. In other words, Be consistent. Don’t speak belief and faith today, but tomorrow say, “Well, I’m not sure if it will happen.” If you do, you will be driving on the center line, which is a dangerous place. You’re guaranteeing you won’t receive what you’re after (James 1:8).

Speak Life-Giving Words

The more you speak only life-giving words, the stronger your faith will grow. It will keep you from being in the lane of faith one day and then out of it the next. Spending regular time reading, studying, and meditating on God’s Word is key to keeping your words in line and staying in the lane of faith.

You must resist every temptation to speak negative words. Those temptations will come, but unless you want to drive away from victory, do not give in. When the devil tempts you to tell it like it is instead of like you want it to be, say, “No, devil! I’m not going to change lanes. I’m staying in the lane of faith!”

3. Be Intentional About Being Obedient

“If you love Me, keep My commandments.” –John 14:15 (NKJV)

The reason God has commandments and statutes is to keep us safely within the lines of the lane of faith. Whenever we disobey, we move outside those lines, we move into a dangerous lane.

The plans He has for us work out turn by turn. Obeying Him in the little things leads us right up to the big things. Now, it may seem harmless to take a wrong turn by being dishonest, flying off the handle in anger, or sharing some gossip.

Those small roads of disobedience take us out of our lane and sometimes cause us to wander around when we didn’t have to. God has given us His written Word and placed His Spirit within us to provide turn-by-turn directions for our lives. Obedience is worth the effort!

Hear God’s Word and Mature

Luke 11:28 tells us that those who hear God’s Word and keep it are blessed. His plan and purpose for your life is not dependent upon what you can or cannot do. It depends on your doing what He tells you to do when He tells you to do it.

It takes being intentional and obedient to make it happen. Though it becomes easier as we grow and mature in the Lord, there will always be work to do. How do we grow in spiritual maturity? Practice, practice, practice. You can do this by prioritizing:

• Meditating on the Word of God and applying it to your own life.
• Listening for and responding to correction.
• Practicing holding your tongue, being patient, and thinking of others.
• Forgiving others (even from offenses of long ago).
• Praying for God’s help.

So, don’t give in to the temptation to disobey God’s Word in any area especially when it comes to walking in love. Be intentional about obeying Him and keep yourself cruising along at full speed in the faith lane!

4. Live by Faith on Purpose

“See then that you walk, circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” –Ephesians 5:15-17 (NKJV)

The word “circumspectly” means in a way that is careful to avoid risks. Other words used are cautiously, suspiciously, or carefully. What does it mean to live by faith on purpose?

When you turn onto a road to start driving, you choose which lane you want to drive on and on purpose. Living life in the lane of faith doesn’t happen by accident. It is intentional and with purposeful effort. What does that look like?

Instead of winging it from one day to the next, you have a plan. It includes making the following decisions for yourself:

• I will speak words of faith, and I am not going to speak words of doubt.
• To believe God, no matter what my five senses are telling me.
• I will obey God, even when my flesh is shouting out and demanding otherwise.
• Read, study, memorize, and meditate on the Word of God daily.
• I am going to receive correction from God and those around me so I can become more pleasing to God.

Now, are you going to be perfect? Of course not. It is this intentional effort, living life in the lane of faith on purpose, that will keep you moving in the direction God has for you. Straight to your dreams and the plans and purposes He has for you.

5. Overcome Hindrances to Faith

“But without faith, it is impossible to please Him.” – Hebrews 11:6a (NKJV)

Here is a question I hear often, “But I have faith and I’m still not seeing results!” If that’s where you are, it’s time to take inventory. Find out where you can make an adjustment to get back on your way to victory.

While there are a number of conditions to God’s promises, the greatest hindrance to faith is failing to walk in love. Walking in love isn’t “being nice,” but rather, a state of the heart that yields the fruit of the spirit in every situation toward every person. It’s the driving force behind a person who can remain calm when being insulted, bless someone who cuts them off in traffic, and forgive quickly and completely.

It isn’t fake exterior behaviors, but a sincere attitude that flows from a heart that has been fully developed in the love of God. No matter how long you’ve been at it, it takes work. You will never stop having to work at walking in love, but it’s worth the effort because it is by far the greatest hindrance to receiving from God. If something is missing in your life, it is almost certainly tied to your love walk.

Conclusion

To get yourself back in the faith lane, overcome any hindrances that may have crept up and driven you into the wrong flow of traffic. It is so much better to acknowledge you took a wrong turn and turned around than remain on the wrong road and stay perpetually lost in life.

You can live life in the faith lane! When you take these five secrets and apply them to every turn of your life, you will see a change. Keep making the slight corrections needed to stay in your faith lane, and before you know it, you will arrive at the destination of your dreams!

Here is a prayer to help you stay in the lane of faith:

Father, in the Name of Jesus, I thank You that Your plans for me are far greater than I could ever imagine. Thank You that You have a purpose for me that includes the manifestation of the desires of my heart and even blessings that I’ve never dreamed of.

I know to receive all You have for me, I must stay in alignment with Your will and Your Word. I know if something is missing in my life, I’m not waiting on You; You are waiting on me. I repent for the areas where I’ve missed it. I ask You to forgive me and help me get back on my way to victory in You.

Lord, I ask You to reveal to me areas where I have not been walking in love. Places where I have pent-up hurt, rejection, bitterness, or anger. Help me to forgive and be healed emotionally, and help me let go completely to give You room to do Your work in me. Help me to humble myself and ask forgiveness of those who I have treated poorly, spoken to more harshly than I should have, or neglected in any way.

I desire to obey Your Word and live a life filled with love for You and others. I commit to You today that I am going to begin each day in faith. Believing in good things, look at life through the lens of faith, and seeking Your will in everything I say and do.

Thank You for Your blessings and Your love for me, and for guiding me into all truth. In Jesus’ Name, Amen!

I am Dale Van De Bogart and I fully agree on God’s Word!

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