Part 4: Active Faith In Passive Seasons. Series

Here's what I've noticed: most of us treat faith like an emergency button. Something you only push when there's a crisis. When the diagnosis is bad, when the job is gone, when everything is falling apart.

But what happens in the seasons when nothing is falling apart and nothing is moving forward? When you're just... stuck? When you're waiting, and the waiting won't end, and the miracle won't come, and the door won't open?

That's where most of us give up on faith. Not in the acute crisis, but in the chronic waiting. Not when things are dramatic, but when things are mundane. And that's when we discover: faith isn't just something you feel when you're in pain. Faith is something you do when you're in patience.

Because faith is not just something we think or feel or say. Faith is not just a noun we hold while we wait. Faith is a verb we do while God moves.

And this week, we're going to explore what it means to act in faith when everything around us is telling us to give up, to quit, to surrender. We're going to learn what active faith looks like in passive seasons. So, let's go there.

FAITH IS NOT JUST BELIEF IT'S ACTION

James writes something that cuts through all the theology we've been discussing. He says: "Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." Listen to that word. Dead. Not sleeping. Not dormant. Dead.

We've spent a lot of time talking about faith as something internal. The trust you carry. The belief you hold. The worship you offer. Those things matter. They're foundational. But James is telling us something crucial: faith is not just something you feel. Faith is something you do.

Think about Habakkuk. He's standing in the collapse. Everything is broken. He cannot change the economy. He cannot restore the harvest. He cannot stop the invasion. The Babylonians are coming. The kingdom is falling. And none of that is in his control. But there are still things he can do. He can still pray. He can still worship. He can still trust. He can still move forward with his life.

Here's what's so important to understand: Habakkuk's actions may not change the circumstances around him. But they absolutely change his posture before God. When you act in faith when you keep moving, keep praying, keep believing you're making a declaration. You're saying: "I may not be able to change what's happening. But I can choose how I respond to it. I can choose to trust. I can choose to obey. I can choose to keep going."

That is active faith. And it's the kind of faith that works when life doesn't.

THE SEASONS WHEN NOTHING MOVES

Let me describe something you might be experiencing right now. There are seasons in life when nothing moves. Nothing progresses. Nothing changes. You're not in acute crisis you're not losing everything today. But you're stuck. And the stuckness feels endless.

Maybe you're waiting for a breakthrough in your career. You've applied for jobs. You've networked. You've developed your skills. And nothing. The door doesn't open. The interview doesn't come. The opportunity doesn't arrive. You're not unemployed. You're just stuck. In a job that's not your calling. In a position that doesn't fulfill you. Year after year.

Or maybe you're waiting for a relationship to heal. You've apologized. You've tried. You've prayed. And nothing. The distance remains. The silence continues. You're not divorced you're just stuck. In a broken dynamic that seems permanent.

Or maybe you're waiting for prayer to be answered. You've prayed for years. Your church has prayed. You've fasted. You've believed. And nothing. The healing hasn't come. The answer hasn't arrived. The door hasn't opened. You're not abandoned you're just stuck. In a season where the prayers seem to hit the ceiling and bounce back.

These are passive seasons. And they can last a long time. And in these seasons, faith feels passive too. It feels like waiting is all you can do. But that's not true. Because even in passive seasons, faith is not passive. Faith still works. But it looks different than you might expect.

THE FOUR D'S OF ACTIVE FAITH

Active faith in passive seasons doesn't mean you're frantically trying to force change. It means you're moving in obedience even though change isn't happening. There are four ways active faith shows up. I call them the Four D's.

DEVOTION: Praying when answers delay. You've been praying for something for years. And you could stop. You could say, "This isn't working. Why keep asking?" But active faith means you keep praying. Not obsessively. Not desperately. But faithfully. You keep bringing your requests to God. You keep asking. You keep seeking. Because the act of prayer itself is an act of faith. You're saying, "I still believe God hears. I still believe God cares. I still believe God can. So I'm going to keep asking."