Faith

Do you have Faith? I’ve always struggled with this a little bit, because I’ve always thought of faith as an activity of the mind.  I had to know something – what God had planned, what He wanted me to do, etc.  John Shelby Spong has some intriguing ideas on faith in his book "This Hebrew Lord".  The Hebrew word that is translated as faith is emunah, which means “the capacity to trust, the courage to act, the willingness to commit.”  This definition of faith doesn’t require that we know what lies ahead, only that we know we will meet God in it. 

This faith seems to be much more an activity of the heart than the mind.  The question now becomes not do I know what God has planned, but do I trust God to meet me in it, to take care of me, to lead me?  Did Abraham know what God had in store for him when he left Ur?  Did Moses know that they would wander in the wilderness for 40 years? I doubt it.  But they both knew that they would meet God there and their faith was “counted as righteousness.” 

THIS kind of faith I understand! It’s all about living life as it presents itself. Whenever we make a change in our life (or the change occurs outside of our control) we must step out in faith.  When we go away to college, when we get married, when we quit a job, start a new one, or lose someone in our lives, God will meet us there if we let Him. 

I dare say most of us have never thought of ourselves as great men and women of faith.  We may not be able to say that God has clearly guided our steps and told us what is coming.  But, when I look back at my life, I see that God has been faithful.  He has always brought me through tough times.  He has always been what I needed – father, mother, friend, lover.  When no one else was there He was. 

During theses changing times, are we going to hold back and be afraid of life or are we going to trust God, have courage to act as He leads, and be willing to commit to Him all that we do?  We are a community of faith. Let’s plunge into life and trust God to meet us.