Guest Post – The Same Faith by Terri J. Haynes

This year has been an amazing year for me. I celebrated 20 years of happy marriage. My husband and I planted a church, a dream put in our hearts by God years ago. I got a promotion to a position that seemed created for me. To top it all off, I signed my first book contract. I’ve had a great year. In the words of one of my favorite songs, this is my season for grace and favor.

All this comes after four hard years. Those years held everything from car accidents, almost all of the appliances in my house breaking, horrible migraines and my husband being deployed to Afghanistan for 11 months. During that time, I learned to cling tighter to God. I learned to trust Him to a depth that I hadn’t before and plant my feet firmly on His word and weather the storm. His faithfulness, power and grace became more real to me.

So when my fantastic year started, I was ready for a breather. I was ready to celebrate and enjoy the harvest of a very long and hard growing season. The hard stuff was over, right? This year began and I prepared to coast into all the fulfillment of all the promises God gave me.

Then I got a reality check.

There was no coasting. Yes, I wasn’t stressed about all the bad things that had happened, but I still had to work at life. In my longing to relax, I didn’t realize that I still needed to contend with the promises even thought they were coming to pass right in front of my eyes.

Did I have to go into spiritual warfare for the promises to come to pass? No. God is not a man that He should lie. What He promises, He will do. But I did have to put the same trust, faith and conviction into this season of plenty as I did in my season of lack.

The truth is that we still have to believe God in our season of plenty. We need the same faith that got us through the hard places to ensure that we don’t miss any of God’s blessings for us. I still have to work on my marriage even though it’s going well. I still have to pray and believe God to use my church to be a place of faith and community. I had to work hard on edits for my book. Through all that, I needed the same faith that I had when things looked dark.

It can be tempting to back down from the fervency the hard seasons require of us when we come into a good season. But when God starts blessing us in multiple directions, as is often the case when we’ve gone through some major pruning by Him, we need to draw even closer to Him. We have to continue to do what we did in the dark times, pray and believe that His is at work so we can receive all He’s promised in our seasons of manifestation.

About Terri’s Latest Book Release Captured from Brown Girls Faith

Special Agent Will Anderson is counting the days before he transfers from the D.C. Human Rights squad of the FBI, but he’s leaving behind everyone he loves. He is asked to interview a victim of suspected human trafficking, a simple task, but finds himself deeply involved in the case.
Social rights activist, Savannah Elliott, has made a fresh start in Washington, D.C., but a routine consultation on a D.C. Human Rights case brings her face to face with a terror from her past.
As Will and Savannah struggle to solve the case, they are forced to face choices, some they’ve buried for years. Will their decisions, past and present, bring them love and safety or will they lose everything, including their lives?

Captured is available today in e-book format at Amazon and Barnes and Noble and will be available on September 28th at your local bookseller.

Author Bio

Terri J. Haynes, a native Baltimorean, is a graphic designer and avid knitter. She loves to read and is storyteller at heart. Her passion is to draw readers in the story world she has created and to bring laughter and joy to their lives. Terri is a 2010 American Christian Fiction Writers Genesis contest finalist, and a 2012 semi-finalist. She is also a 2013 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Quarterfinalist. She holds a certificate in Creative Writing and Masters degree in Theology. Terri is a licensed minister and pastors a church with her Ret. Army husband. She has three children, who beg her not to kill their favorite characters. She lives in Sothern Maryland just outside Washington, DC.  www.terrijhaynes.com