Faith In The Midst
Isobel Akers
Watching a series on Television recently, a random phrase caught my attention.
“You don’t always have to see the path to know that it’s there.”
I began pondering this statement. At first my mind flitted to a film I had watched years ago.
“Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”
In his quest to find the Holy Grail he has to step into what appears to be thin air. But, as he steps out, stone steps appear and he walks safely across.
This all got me to thinking about faith.
Hebrews 11 is a great chapter that tells us of how many Biblical characters reacted to difficult situations.
By faith many great people of God stepped out; not with blind faith but trusting in God to show the way.
When Gabriel appeared to Mary, she didn’t doubt what she was told but was merely curious as to how this miracle was going to happen.
Rick Warren, the Pastor of an American Mega Church called Saddleback wrote about “Facing the facts with faith”.
He used the passage in Romans 4:19 to illustrate his point.
“Abraham was almost 100 years old, much past the age for having children, and Sarah could not have children. Abraham thought about all this, but his faith in God did not become weak.”
Sometimes we might feel that faith is ignoring the facts and trusting God for the outcome.
But actually, God wants us to face up to the reality and truth of the facts of whatever situation we find ourselves facing and not to be discouraged.
Faith is not living in denial but trusting our powerful, loving Heavenly Father in the midst of a difficult situation.
As a young Christian I learned the verse in Hebrews 11:1
“Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
This was often hard to understand as I watched my mum suffer from the pain and disability of MS. But God gave her peace and even times of joy in the midst of her suffering. She never stopped trusting and believing in a God of love although there were times of questioning and wondering “why?”
We read in Hebrews 11:6 that without faith it is impossible to please God.
May God increase our faith and trust in Him in our lives, as we face the joys and challenges that each day brings.
There’s an old hymn that comes to mind:
Trust in the Lord and don’t despair
He is a friend so true
No matter what your troubles are
Jesus will see you through.
Sing through the darkest night
Sing when the day is bright
All the way
Every day let us sing, sing, sing
Praising God for all the good things He has done and given us is a great way to confuse the devil and increase our love and trust in our Saviour.