Keep The Faith!
Tuesday, October 19, 2010 at 7:00AM MAD21 By Pat
"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." (Hebrews 11:6)
Faith. We all know the importance of faith. We've all said to someone "keep the faith!" and we've all had it said to us in our times of struggle. But it's also something that most of us (if not all of us) wrestle with. It seems like one day we're on top of the world; things are going well for us, life is peachy. God seems close, and we can see Him at work in our lives. That's easy!
But what about when things are not going so smoothly? How about those times when finances are stretched, health is poor, or relationships are feeling a bit strained? That's when it gets tough to maintain an unwavering, unshakable faith. I know how that feels for sure, and it used to really disturb me to realize that perhaps my level of faith is contingent upon the size of my struggles.
But as time has passed, I have come to realize how very human I am, and that if I struggle with my faith, I am certainly in good company. The book of Psalms is full of David and his struggles with faith, and ultimately God allowing him to triumph over his doubts and weaknesses. Even Jesus' disciples, who were with Jesus every day, had their faith issues. We all know the story of Peter walking on the water...
"Come", Jesus said. Then Peter got out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out "Lord, save me!" Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith. Why did you doubt?" (Matthew 14: 29-31).
The wind and waves diverted Peter's attention away from Jesus and he began to sink, just as we allow the winds and waves of our lives to obscure our view of God, so that we feel at times we're sinking. Being unable to physically lay our eyes on the Lord, or to see His hand doing wonderful things, should not hinder our faith, for indeed He is at work and has promised that "in all things God works for the good for those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28).
Even when we have turmoil, questions, problems and fears, our faith must remain strong. God is at work, and God is good. After all, we can't see the wind, but we can surely see the evidence of it, and it's the same with the Lord. Allow the times of strife, when you can't "see" God at work, to strengthen your faith, and you will become stronger and stronger.
Pat is a good friend who is passionate about her faith and her family. She works from home supporting a family business, and loves to read, write and garden when she can, and spends every spare moment with her grandkids.
Reader Comments (3)
Amen. Thanks Pat.
Thanks, Pat...the Hebrews verse is perhaps my favorite scripture and something of which I constantly need to be reminded...it appears that in these times of struggles is when WE find out just where we stand when it comes to our "faith" in God....it's all too easy to pronounce great faith when we're not in "trouble"... again, look at Peter when he announced that He would NEVER leave Jesus. As always, when we are in the middle of a struggle, we are left with the all-important question, does God REALLY care about me, and if He does, what is the purpose of all this suffering??? Fortunately, God is patient and we see that Jesus did not "give up" on Peter, but rather actually placed him in a very important role in the Church...So, again, thanks Pat for the encouragement to keep trusting in God when we don't understand what He is doing. That's really all faith is, isn't it?
Thanks, Jerel and Jason, for your kindness...yep, faith is BELIEF without SEEING. And I think we all struggle with aspects of our faith. If we didn't, how could it grow stronger? God always knows what he's doing.