This past Sunday as I was getting ready for church, and without much thought I put on one of my favorite bracelets that friend gave to me. The bracelet had pearls, and the word Faith in the center.

Little do I know, the church service that morning was going to center around faith. Which makes sense, right? It’s January, a new year, the perfect time to go back to Genesis and look at what having faith looks like. So the sermon centers around Genesis 22, when Abraham is asked by God to sacrifice his son Isaac. When Isaac notices that there is no lamb to sacrifice he looks to who his father Abraham, who says in verse 8: “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son”. Abraham had faith that God will provide, after all the Lord himself promised Abraham decedents through Isaac, and there could be no decedents if Isaac was sacrificed, could there? He didn’t question God’s request, he just obeyed Him.

As a church then we were asked what are we willing to sacrifice? Would be able to sacrifice the thing or someone we loved most if God asked?

I go home that day and look at my daily bible reading plan and realize, my readings are asking the same thing. Everyday this week there has been a scripture from Genesis following Abraham’s walk and the tests of Faith the Lord put him through.

I also got home that day and realized my favorite Faith bracelet had fallen off at some point during the day.

As disappointed as I was, I thought about the irony of it all. I realized, it’s just a bracelet. Even though that was gone, I still have my faith in God, and isn’t that what really mattered?

See having faith means that you truly believe in something, without necessarily physical proof of it. You can’t necessary see it, but you know it’s there. It’s having confidence and trust in something, or even someone. For me it is in God, my Lord and my Savior. I have faith that the Lord will always provide and sustain me, that He has a plan for me.

I don’t know the Lord’s plan, but I let him guide me, I ask for his direction and I follow it. That’s why I was able to quit my job without another lined up for me. I have someone close to me tell me that he didn’t think it was a good idea to just quit without having something else lined up, but that I was confident that it all would work out. I sort of just laughed, and thought no, that was faith in God.

Did I worry when doors get getting closed? Sometimes, but then I turned to God and remembered, I am going to be fine. He’s got this, He’s working something for me, and if the door is closed then I know it wasn’t for me.

And guess what, He did provide. This week I accepted a job offer, one that I knew was because of Him.

So have faith. Worry less. And remember that the Lord has this. When you follow his lead and have faith in Him,  you will be rewarded.

As for me? I am going to continue growing in my faith in the Lord. I encourage you to question what you have faith in, and what are you willing to sacrifice for that faith.