How our blog got its name!

You may be wondering where the title of our blog, Let Faith Arise came from and how it relates to us. This phrase is one that Megan and I will cling to throughout this journey. It comes from a Chris Tomlin song titled "I Lift My Hands" (video posted below). The day we were approved to begin the adoption process we discussed starting a blog to document our experience and to allow others to join in with us. This day was extremely exciting as the Lord had answered a prayer, yet scary and nerve-wracking at the same time. We were in it for good, and the reality started to set in throughout the day for both Megan and myself. Satan began attacking us by causing doubt to creep in. We began playing the "what if" game. That night we were scheduled to have dinner with a family from America World (our adoption agency). Again, something that was exciting, yet Satan began to attack more aggressively. Around 5:30 that evening more doubt started to creep in. What had we got ourselves into? How will we afford this? How long is the process going to take? How will people take the news? How was the dinner going to go?  Lol. As humans, we are just nuts sometimes. The Lord clearly answers prayers and an hour later we turn around and start doubting Him. He doesn't want to make life miserable for us. He cares deeply for us and longs to give us the desires of our hearts (Psalm 37:4). Those desires should be whatever He desires since His thoughts and ways are far above ours (Isaiah 55:9).

 So, we regrouped. We discussed briefly (or else we'd be late to dinner) how the Lord had answered prayer after prayer after prayer throughout the past two months. We discussed that He had confirmed in so many ways that this was a risk He wanted us to take. Our faith was "down in the dumps" so to speak. It was lacking in so many ways. We had to allow our faith to arise, believe again and quit doubting, and remember God's promises. Remember that He is there for us. Remember that He is our refuge and strength. Remember that we can pour our heart out to Him and that He is faithful forever. We then prayed and gave everything to the Lord.....again.

On our way to the dinner we were discussing names for our blog. We had a Christian mix CD on in the background and Chris Tomlin's "I Lift My Hands" ironically came on. As he continues to belt out "Let Faith Arise! Let Faith Arise!" Megan says light-heartedly, "What about Let Faith Arise?'" The more I listened, the more I thought, "This is pretty good." The lyrics fit perfectly for this emotional roller coaster we are planning to face. Many highs and lows are to come, but through it all, our faith must not waver (James 1:6). Although it has only been a couple of months, we have experienced right many ups and downs. We have both learned that it's not fun when things don't work out. We want a nice little walk in the park, but that's not how Christ works. He has already allowed some downs in this experience, and through them, while not very fun, our faith has been strengthened. We do understand there could be several more "downs," and that, at times, things that are happening may not make a lot of sense. We must "let faith arise" and trust the God who holds the world in His hands. As the Lord rhetorically asked Abraham in Genesis 18:14, "Is anything too hard for the Lord?", so must we ask ourselves that same, exact question.