Stop Faking It Until You Make It — Learn to Trust God Until He Takes You Through It!

There is an old saying that goes, “Fake it until you make it.” and it got me to thinking.

In other words, act like you've got it going on, even when everything around you is falling apart. Walk like you're wealthy, dress like you're successful, smile like you're happy, and carry yourself like you don't have a care in the world.

After all, they don't know! They don't know your lights were turned off last week. They don't know you're two months behind on your rent. They don't know your car payment is overdue, your bank account is empty, and you're trying to figure out how you're going to make it from one payday to the next. They don't know that the same person they see smiling on Sunday cried themselves to sleep on Saturday night. They don't know!

And because you've become so good at pretending, people actually believe you've got it all together. Some of them are even jealous of you! They're envious of your clothes, your car, your house, your position and your lifestyle. They're trying to keep up with you, not realizing you're struggling to keep up with the image you've created of yourself!

Isn't that something? Somebody is losing sleep trying to live a life that you can't even afford to live yourself!

But I've lived long enough to understand something. There is a difference between looking blessed and being blessed. There is a difference between appearing successful and having peace. And there is a difference between impressing people and trusting God.

You see, I'm not here to impress you with what I have or what I don't have. I don't need you to believe my bank account is bigger than it is. I don't need you to think my house is larger than it is. I don't need to drive something I can't afford just to convince somebody who doesn't pay my bills that I'm doing well.

Because at this stage of my life, I've discovered that peace is more valuable than popularity, contentment is more valuable than comparison, and God's approval is worth more than the applause of people.

And can I tell you something else? You don't have to fake a blessing when you know the One who blesses! The Bible reminds us in Psalm 24:1, "The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein." That means my Father owns it all!

The cattle on a thousand hills belong to Him. The silver is His. The gold is His. Every door, every opportunity, every provision and every possibility rests in His hands. So why should I spend my life pretending to have what somebody else has when I serve a God who already knows everything I need?

Now don't misunderstand me. Faith doesn't mean you won't struggle. Faith doesn't mean the bills won't come due. Faith doesn't mean you won't experience disappointment, rejection, setbacks or seasons when you have more month than money. But faith means that even when I don't have everything I want, I can trust the God who has never failed to provide what I need.

And that's where some of us have gotten it twisted. We've become so busy trying to look like we've arrived that we've forgotten how to appreciate the journey. We want the crown, but we don't want the cross. We want the testimony, but we don't want the test. We want the victory, but we don't want to endure the battle. We want God to elevate us, but we don't want Him to develop us.

But I've learned that some blessings can only be appreciated after you've survived the struggle.Sometimes God has to teach you how to live with a little before He can trust you with a lot. Sometimes He has to close a door to teach you that your security was never in the room. Sometimes He has to allow you to walk through a valley so you'll understand that the same God who is God on the mountaintop is still God in the valley. And sometimes He has to strip away everything you've been using to impress people so you can discover that who you are in Him is greater than anything you could ever own.

That's why I love what Paul said in 2 Timothy 4:7-8: "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." And then he declared that there was a crown of righteousness laid up for him.

Notice something. Paul didn't say he had impressed everybody. He didn't say he had accumulated the most possessions. He didn't say everybody liked him, celebrated him or approved of him. He said, "I have kept the faith."

And that's my message to somebody. You may not have everything you want but keep the faith. You may be struggling financially but keep the faith. You may be carrying burdens nobody knows about but keep the faith. You may have to wear the same suit twice, drive an older car, live in a smaller house or tell somebody, "I can't afford that right now." And that's all right!

Because there's no shame in living within your means. There's no shame in starting over. There's no shame in admitting that life is difficult. The shame is not in struggling. The tragedy is in spending your whole life pretending you're not.

So stop measuring your blessings by somebody else's possessions. Stop comparing your chapter three to somebody else's chapter twenty. Stop going broke trying to look rich. Stop exhausting yourself trying to convince people you've made it when God is still making you!

And here's the part I really want you to hear. You don't have to fake it until you make it. You need to have faith while God is making you! Faith to endure. Faith to wait. Faith to be content. Faith to keep walking when you can't see the destination. Faith to believe that what God has for you doesn't require you to pretend to be somebody you're not.

Because I've discovered that the greatest blessing is not always what God puts in your hands. Sometimes the greatest blessing is the peace He puts in your heart while your hands are still empty. And when all is said and done, I don't need the world to think I've made it. I just want to hear my Heavenly Father say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."

So let somebody else fake it until they make it. As for me, I'm going to trust Him until He brings me through it. I'm going to praise Him when I have plenty and praise Him when I have little. I'm going to thank Him when the doors are open and trust Him when the doors are closed.

And if I have to struggle for a season, I'll struggle with my dignity, my integrity and my faith intact. Because I know Somebody who is rich in houses and land. I know Somebody who holds the world in the palm of His hand.

And I believe that if I just hold on, keep the faith, endure the hardships and finish my course, there is a reward waiting for me that no bank account can measure, no automobile can represent and no earthly possession can replace.

Because at the end of the day, I'd rather be genuinely blessed with a little than falsely admired for having a lot. And that's the way I see it...