My Life of Faith

     My name, Zoie Faith, literally means "Life of Faith," and its meaning has been evident all throughout my life. My identity has been spoken over me every day of my life, it's who I am and who God created me to be. But living a life of faith is not easy. Trusting God for every need, sometimes means going without things. Since as long as I can remember I've lived a life dependent on God. When I was little, I didn't see it as much as I do now. I didn't see the struggle my parents went through to provide for me and my sisters, and I didn't see the million little miracles that coated our lives, from the anonymous checks that arrived in the mail to the groceries that would appear on our front steps, plus countless more. When we lost our house and started on our God directed journey across the country, I saw God's hand in my life so much clearer. I knew that random strangers don't give a family looking for direction a house, free of rent, for as long as we need, without God's hand touching their heart. I knew that someone doesn't just give a stranger the keys to their golf course so we could do what God had called us to, and that is, making movies with life. In the past seven years my family has received seven miracle houses, all out of the blue, but all given at the time we needed it most. From a young age I've known who my God is and what He can do. My faith has been built strongly on God's direction in my family's life. But when I was eleven years old the enemy put me through a test that would not only challenge who I was, but also test how strong my relationship with Jesus really was. When something is spoken over you every day, when God shows you your identity in Him, the enemy is going to attack. And what better way to attack a Life of Faith than with a fear of death. For months I struggled with fear, the fear of death, either my own death, or the death of someone in my family. The very thought of it would keep me up at night, every sound, every shadow, sending fear through my body. "What ifs" filled my mind as the enemy attacked me with fear. But the beautiful thing was, I didn't walk through this alone, I learned through it who my God really was to me, not just to my family as a whole, but to me personally. He took my hand in His and showed me His unexplainable peace, His beautiful plan He had for my life, and His protection that surrounded me wherever I went. It truly was a spiritual battle. The biggest weapon I used to fight was scripture. I memorized Psalm 91, and every night before I went to bed I would recite it. Through it Jesus revealed himself to me as my Protector, as one that I could run to when I was afraid. I had to learn to put my trust in him. Although fear held me for a time, Jesus set me free. When who you are is in God, then the enemy will attack. He sees who God is shaping you to be and it scares him, so he tries everything he can to stop you from becoming all God created you to be. But what I love is that he doesn't have to win. If we submit to God, and fully put our trust in Him, the enemy has no say over our lives. God is so much bigger than all we might face, and in Him we will have the victory.

I was called to live a life of faith, what were you called to?

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." - Proverbs 3:5-6