Faith is a funny thing. Sometimes we ask for it. Sometimes we want it. Sometimes we have it. And we always need it. Hebrews says that “Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” I think we all love the idea of having confidence in what we hope for. Assurance about what we do not see....thats a little harder.
It seems to me that faith is the glue that holds us together. Faith is what we need when we don’t have the answers to the prayers that we’ve been praying. Faith is what we need when the answers we get aren’t the answers we want, and faith is what we must exercise when the answers we’ve been asking for don’t look the way WE want them too even if the answer is exactly what we need.
The reality of life is that we run into challenges, and decisions that we dont want to deal with and frankly dont know how to deal with. We pray about them, we ask for guidance, and we try to figure them out. Sometimes the answers we get are clear, and other times they are like driving a car in a snowstorm. You cant tell where you are headed or if youre even on the right road anymore. Unfortunately in life we dont have the luxury of simply pulling the car over and stopping. We must continue to press on. The beauty though is that while we may not know where we are headed, someone else does. It is there that we find what it really means to walk (or drive) by faith.
We all have plans for what we think our lives should look like. I cant even count how much time Ive spent trying to figure out what I want to do with my life, where I want to live, or how I can figure out the answers to who Im going to be or how my life is going to end up. Don’t we all want that? Don’t we all want the answers? Direction? Life is so much easier and safer that way. The more we know the less we have to risk and the less difficult everything is. While life may be easier, safer, and more convenient when we have all the answers, it also can cause us to lose our reliance on faith.
God doesn’t call us to live safe lives in which we know all the answers, don’t need Him for anything, and can figure it all out on our own. Not everything in our lives is meant to make perfect sense, go exactly how WE want things to go, and be lived without struggles and challenges. Perhaps if we try really, really hard we can achieve the life of minimal struggles, painless decisions, and comfortable choices but we'd lose more than we gained in the process. Even if it were possible it wouldn’t be the life God has planned for us. Jesus said that He came so that we may have life and have life to the fullest. That life means taking risks, dreaming big, living outside our comfort zone, and taking steps of faith…..even when we don’t know how things are going to turn out.
Im sure im not the only one who needs to learn how to step out in faith and trust that God wants us to live our life filled with excitement and adventure. Its not easy. In fact, some days its really really hard. However, “When you have come to the edge Of all light that you know And are about to drop off into the darkness Of the unknown, Faith is knowing One of two things will happen: There will be something solid to stand on or You will be taught to fly.”
Lets not get bogged down in the unknown, the unanswered prayers, and all the things inbetween. Instead, lets live the life we were called to live...one of trust and faith.
