faith

Yesterday, I came across this definition for faith:

“….Faith is finally this: resting so utterly in the character of God – in the ultimate goodness of God – that you trust Him even when He seems untrustworthy.”

The author also talks about the fact that "one moment in our lives can change everything. One moment that can’t be undone, can’t be contained, can’t be accounted for, that demolishes in a single instant, a lifetime of entire moments."

I am sure that everyone reading this can identify at least one moment in their lives that reveals this as truth. The moment you found out your parents were getting a divorce, the moment you, or a loved one got a terminal diagnosis, the moment you found out that the one you trust and love cheated on you, the moment you found out your child made a decision that will forever alter their lives…I could go on and on. We have all had at least one of these moments and probably more than one.

In those moments, all that we have learned and know intellectually about God and who He is can fall to the wayside. Our shattered heart claws at our faith, desperately trying to hang onto it, like a drowning man hanging onto a piece of floating wood.

Faith is a noun when the world is right but it quickly becomes a verb when our world is turned upside down.

I think the bottom line is - do I trust in the sovereignty of God only when things are going well? That doesn’t seem to require much from me. But to trust in His sovereignty when my heart is broken, when grief is so overwhelming that I can’t seem to catch my breath, when one moment redefines everything that I knew to be my life, that is the definition of faith.

As you reflect on this, can you think back to a time when everything changed for you…a time when there was a BEFORE and an AFTER…when life was forever altered? How did you respond? Did you cling to God or run from Him…maybe even blame Him? I invite you to spend some time today thinking about how you have responded to God in the past during tough times and how much you think you may be able to trust Him with whatever lies ahead for you.

Grace and peace,
Deb