I recently came across something called the "Model of Life." It is a diagram designed to help one understand and diagnose the differences in a person's responses to various life events. Specifically, whether someone is reacting according to the flesh (one's own wisdom and abilities) or acting in the Spirit (reliance upon God's wisdom and ability). It has been said that life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% how you react. If this is so, then understanding why one responds certain ways to events in life will certainly help create an objective viewpoint, an aid to choosing to act according to the Spirit, versus not.
The components of the model form a flow chart and progress as follows: Event; Thoughts; Emotions; Words; Reactions; and Consequences (positive or negative). Thus, an event occurs progressively leading to thoughts that affect one's emotions. From the external stimulus of the event to the internal effect, the person consequently begins to speak words and finally take action. It's interesting that of all the elements in the above sequences, the event itself can be something very minor, yet as the person progresses through the following parts, the issue can be inflated to extreme proportion. In other words, a minor situation may lead to someone exploding with a disproportionate response, thereby producing even greater (and usually negative) results. In his book, Lifetime Guarantee, Bill Gilham states that the stress meter of most people is already at a high level, e.g., seven out of ten, and only a minor event is needed to push the person emotionally to a ten, which might be, for example, where they explode or take unpremeditated action. Indeed, I have observed many people who are already operating out of a fleshly mind react negatively to unfortunate circumstances, even though the situation itself is minor. This type of person always views life in terms of the negative—they are seemingly perpetually pessimistic and "life" is always against them.
Galatians 3:12 provides much insight into the life of such a person we have been discussing: "But the Law does not rest on or require faith [it has nothing to do with faith], but [instead, the Law] says, 'He who practices them [the things prescribed by the Law] shall live by them [instead of faith]'" (AMP). This verse reveals, I believe, why many individuals "give up" on traditional Christianity, some of them deciding to live without reference to God and instead relying on their own wisdom and principles, and some of them eventually hearing grace for the first time and discovering true faith. And here is the core issue: what is true, biblical faith? The understanding of this question affects how we respond to situations around us. Do we react to the events we encounter? Or is our response in truth an action based not upon what happens in any given circumstance, but rather upon what we know to be true? Faith might then be compared to an authentic monetary bill against which any negative circumstance (counterfeit) can be measured. One dismisses the worthlessness of the false in favor of the value of the real.
Faith, as commonly understood and taught in most churches is this: it is the strength of one's belief. Listen to any news report or testimony and one is likely to hear how well a person believed (or tried to believe) in God during duress. This is not to discount the end result that many people do indeed come out on top of very negative situations, but listen very closely to their words: does God's goodness and trustworthiness receive credit, or does the person add the strength of their own faith to their testimony? Scripture never intended us to focus on our testimony, as Acts 4:33 reveals: "And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all." A similar word search of "Jesus" and "testimony" reveals multiple occurrences in Revelation. Every event in one's life must be measured by and made to bow to the testimony of Jesus. The testimony of Jesus, then, is the foundation of our faith.
I have seen individuals struggle over and over with the same issues simply because their faith is in their faith. Or, their faith might lie in someone else's faith. This kind of person must constantly confess sin and ask for prayer. They usually need someone else to tell them what to do. The other person and/or their prayers may even well be the source of motivation for the recipient. All of this occurs because there is no real faith life in them. They have a law mentality that disqualifies them from receiving blessing freely from their heavenly Father. True, biblical faith rests in God's goodness alone. It always has reason to rejoice and give thanks. True biblical faith can sit in a dark and unsanitary jail cell, praise God, and impact every person overhearing the individuals who should be complaining, mourning, and spewing bitter phrases instead of exuding peace, confidence, and joy.
Consider several persons in Scripture who reacted to negative situations or acted positively in faith, even to similar negative situations and notice that those who had negative reactions usually caused consequences only upon themselves, whereas acts of faith impacted both the person and many others positively: Moses and Aaron reacted negatively to the people's stubbornness and were restricted from entering the Promised Land. Jesus rebuked the disciples who asked to call down fire on the Samaritans. Conversely, Isaiah (preaching to Israel) and Ananias (praying for Paul) both responded according to faith when confronted with potentially difficult and dangerous circumstances. As a result, many benefited. However, even in the negative examples above, grace appears to abound. Joshua, as a Christ-figure, led the people into the Promised Land. Moses eventually appeared with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. Thus, Moses did make it into the Promised Land. Furthermore, although the disciples wanted to call down fire on the Samaritans, it was Jesus Himself who brought the gospel to a people hated by the Jews. Jesus seems to work everything out in the end—a statement upon which one should rest.
The consideration of the sequence of an external event to an internal processing and then the outward speech, actions, and consequences should help us to realize the simplicity of faith. Faith is resting in a persuasion that God is good, reliable, and for us despite any circumstances in life that may be interpreted from a limited perspective. Faith looks beyond the limitations of the natural "now" and instead sees a better reality of Christ's abiding presence, both past, present, and future. Faith refuses to trust in self; it rests upon the truth of Jesus' testimony: the Father only brings good and the Spirit only gives resurrection life.
Grace=Peace,
Jeremy