BB Ep. 97: Having Faith in Different Seasons with Amanda Bible Williams

Having Faith in Different Seasons   2:12 Having Faith in Different Seasons 4:15 Three Ways to Live Out Your Faith for Yourself and Others 16:13 Having Faith When Life Gets Hard with Amanda Bible Williams 50:30 Encouragement: God Can Use Your Crumbs Resources Business Boutique Conference The Business Boutique Conference is coming back to Nashville Oct. 22-24. If you want to learn how to grow your business and chase your dream, you don't want to miss this event. To save $10 on any Business Boutique Conference ticket, use the code BBWRIGHT. If you have a success story you would like to share with the Business Boutique community, email me at podcast@businessboutique.com. New podcast episodes are available every other week. Having faith often looks different in different seasons of life. And sometimes I have this pattern in my life where I might go a season-a few weeks, a month, maybe even a few months-without going to church. This is embarrassing to admit, but life gets hard. You have babies . . . You get sick . . . Sometimes it's just tough to get there. But every single time I go back to church after one of these seasons, I notice something: I have this mindset that I'm doing it for God. I'm going to be a good Christian. I'm going to go to church. I'm going to get my brownie points. I'm going make God so happy with me because I'm showing up. And every single time I go back, I experience the same feeling: I was there for me. God invites me to church. God invites me into His story and into His plans. Not because He needs me, but for me-because I benefit from it. I don't know if you've ever experienced something similar, but I think it's really common to believe that about anything we do. Whether it's going to church, reading our Bible, praying, or even giving our time, we start to believe the lie that we're doing it for God. But the truth is that it's for us. God is all powerful. He doesn't need you or me. He doesn't need our money, time or talents. He doesn't need anything. He's God! He can move mountains, raise the dead, heal the blind, and part red seas. He can do anything. But He chooses to invite us into His story, and it's for our benefit. I want to give you three things that you can do to live out your faith in different seasons. And as you step into God's plan and God's calling and God's purpose for you, you'll experience the ripple effect in the kingdom and in yourself. You'll be amazed at how He peels away these layers of pride and wounds and selfishness and sin we didn't even know were there. But as long as we have faith and live it out, we're growing to become more like Him. 3 Ways to Live Out Your Faith for Yourself and Others: So, let's talk about three really simple things that you can do to live out your faith for yourself and others. 1. Show up. Matthew 18:20 (NIV) says "For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them." Sometimes the best gift you can give someone is your presence. When God is in you, you can show up and show Him to people just by being present. Your presence is a gift and a ministry to the people in your life. So, just show up. Show up at church. Show up for your friends and family. Show up when someone needs help with their kids. Show up when someone needs a meal. Show up when someone just wants to sit and talk. Just be there for people. 2. Give When you give, God is inviting you to open your hands and hold your life, your time, your talents, your money, your energy, your plans, and your agendas with open hands. I believe God calls us to live a life with this posture with open hands where we can freely give and also freely receive. So, what does that look like for you? Here's what I know: Every time I give, I think I'm doing it for God and others. And every time, it changes me more than it changes them. 3. Pray Did you know that God actually moves on your behalf when you pray? I...