Rev. Richard Smith
| Hebrews 11:1 Now faith means putting our full confidence in the things we hope for. It means being certain of things we cannot see. |
One of my favorite singers is Martina McBride. She has a song titled, Anyways, which for me is a spiritual blockbuster. Among the lyrics are these words…
God is great
But sometimes life ain’t good.
And when I pray
It doesn’t always turn out like I think it should.
But I do it anyway.
I do it anyway.
I think you can see why I describe this song as a spiritual blockbuster.
Each of us understands that faith by its very nature is trust in the workings of God; confidence that whatever happens in the ebb and flow of our lives, God is truly at work for good. Even when things don’t “always turn out like we think it should”, we lean on this confidence, this trust.
Now, obviously, this confidence cannot be what I call “naïve hope” or “Pollyanna faith”. Our contemporary spiritual culture is replete with prosperity preachers and advocates who tell us that if we have enough faith, enough trust, then God will always bountifully bless us. Well, I do believe God will always bless us as we lean on Him, but I don’t think this means we get huge rewards or material blessings. The primary gift God gives us in these trying moments is his soul-filling presence; his sustaining grace.
Also, our confident trust in God doesn’t mean we aren’t expected to do our part. Most of you have heard me speak often of our necessary partnership with God. Even as God sustains us and helps us, He clearly expects us to do our part. So when we pray for solutions, we need to be ready to be part of the solution. When we seek wisdom, we need to pursue paths of wisdom-seeking. When we seek help with relationships, we need to be ready to do our part to help the situation. You get the picture!
We also need to establish that true faith doesn’t preclude moments of doubt and uncertainty. We’re all human and even as we trust, we can have times when we struggle a bit with God’s timeline or God’s way of answering or God’s design.
One of the biggest challenges for many people of faith is how we handle the question of God and suffering. One can be a person of deep faith and still wonder about the reality of deep human suffering. In fact, I think it’s Pollyanna faith that dismisses this question. To avoid the question of suffering is ignore honest human feelings and needs which we people of the Christian faith need to understand and affirm. One of the reasons many in our day and time are turning away from traditional spirituality is they feel we Christians have failed to acknowledge that belief in God must grapple with the harsh questions and realities of life. I do plan to address this topic of God and suffering more extensively in a blog piece coming soon.
We don’t have to have all the answers to have solid confidence and trust in God! Otherwise, it wouldn’t be faith! I trust God even though life and reality can often defy Him. I trust God even though there are worthwhile prayers unanswered as we hoped. I trust God even as I acknowledge the life circumstances which challenge that trust. I think you do as well!!
