Crazy faith is a series of topics shared by Pastor Michael Todd, he is always energetic and inspiring, and you can always feel he is on fire for God. Crazy faith is only crazy until it happens, and crazy faith stands for thoughts and actions that lack reason but trust fully in what you cannot explicitly prove. The Bible has stated that faith is the assurance of things hoped for, and the conviction of things not yet seen. I know faith is important to please God, and with faith as small as a mustard seed we can move mountains. However, in the series so far, I watched until part 10 now, the one that speaks to me the most is the hasty faith.

I am the person who is always on the go and always feels like I have to do something, to accomplish, to reach certain things to feel worth it or successful in the situation I am in. This always results in me feeling uncomfortable about not doing anything and not knowing what God wants me to do. I will often find things to do that fill up my mind, my time, and use my resource, which may not be even what God wants me to do. I am hasty because I have no patience in waiting for God to tell me what he wants me to do, and this results in me making hasty decisions.

The story of Saul in the Bible reveals what hasty faith would be like and the price we may pay for a hasty faith. Saul is the first king of Israel that God anointed with the prophet Samuel. In one incident, Samuel instructed Saul to go to Gilgal and wait there for 7 days. However, the enemy hard-pressed Saul’s army, and people deserted, resorting to hiding and running, which makes Saul feel pressured that people are running away. Hence, according to 1 Samuel 13:8-14

“⁸ Then he [Saul] waited seven days, according to the time set by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattered from him. ⁹ So Saul said, “Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me.” And he offered the burnt offering. ¹⁰ Now it happened, as soon as he had finished presenting the burnt offering, that Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might ^[d]greet him.

¹¹ And Samuel said, “What have you done?”

Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, ¹² then I said, ‘The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the Lord.’ Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering.”

¹³ And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you. For now, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. ¹⁴ But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”

It really is big deal when we did not do God’s work according to God’s will. In the story, Saul’s enemy is the Philistines, the army of giants that probably looks pretty scary. Hence when the opposition comes, Saul finds alternative options, instead of staying put and simply waiting for God. Saul explained to Samuel that he felt compelled to burn the offering at the time, because “he feel” like that is the best option at that time. When I reflect on what I do when I feel opposition in life, well, instead of depending on God’s word, sometimes my emotions win and I let that feeling determine the options available. However, this is dangerous, because God’s promises and blessings for me may be in the area in life where I feel opposition.  Saul depended on his action on his feeling, which is the hasty faith that cost him his kingdom. God was originally planning to have Saul’s kingdom over Israel forever, but now, God is required to find another person after His own heart.

Ohh..oh…I am thinking about how many of God’s blessings have I let it pass through because I chose to let my feelings determine my action. This is such a repenting moment that I pray to God I want to obey his word and his command, and I want to be the person after his own heart.

Pastor Mike Todd talked about this phenomenon that was well-known as FOMO, which means Fear Of Missing Out, and this is what lead to a lot of hasty faith, including the story of Saul. Saul was afraid of missing out on people’s belief in him as his soldiers started to hide and run away from the battle, so he felt like he has to do something instead of waiting for God’s timing. There are so many times I felt like I needed to belong, or I was afraid of missing out on certain fun, missing out on a great job opportunity, or missing out on a great learning opportunity. Therefore, I chose to be hasty instead of waiting on God’s word. I just went ahead and did what I “felt” is the best option to fill my feeling, instead of staying and waiting on God. Pastor Mike has taught us that to receive God’s blessing, we have to learn to “Flip it” flip the FOMO of fear of missing out into FOMO of Follow Order Maintain Obedience, and have faith over many oppositions.

I now see that the hardest opposition to fight can really be my own feelings. It is the practice of fighting against my own feelings and following what God is commanding and staying in God’s truth.

Dear friends,

I don’t think that Saul’s story is an odd case, just like I don’t think we are alone in the whirlpool of fear of missing out and fighting our own feelings. My prayer for us is that we have the courage to admit that we have made some decisions that were too hasty and stepped out too quickly into things that did not conform to God’s calling. I pray that we will continue to have faith and patience to wait on God and listen for God’s word. Don’t lose hope in praying to God about your situation, as our Shepard knows our voice, and his plan is to prosper us and have a future for us.

Dear Heavenly Father,

I want to pray for myself and all of my friends and families. Lord, you have seen our struggles to measure to a world that can never satisfy our deepest needs. And Lord you also see our fear of missing out on things that seem to satisfy everyone else around us. Lord, I pray that we will learn to read your word and be fed on your truth, and our eyes will be fixed on your word and truth that will give us meaning and purpose in life. Lord, help us to meditate daily on your words, because when we forget about your word and your truth, we let the world’s beliefs and values slip into our mind, which causes us to panic and has FOMO, and our faith becomes wavy. And when our faith becomes wavy, we start to make hasty decisions that might take away the great blessings and promises you have in mind for us. So, Lord, I pray that Holy Spirit would protect us from the attack of the enemy. And as we get weary and tired, and feel hard pressed by the enemy, Lord, I pray that Jesus is there to intervene and be our counselor and guidance when we feel lost amid the battles. Thank you, Lord, for your teaching on truth, and we want to follow your truth. Thank you for all the blessings you have given, you are giving, and you will continue to give.

I pray all these in the name of Jesus, in the name of Jesus,

Amen.

Check out another sharing on God’s truth VS my truth