The Hall of Faith

December 16, 2005

Faith trips me out. It’s more elusive than anything and yet it promises more than anything at the same time. It’s definitely one of those things only God could have thunk.

And that’s the point: God. But I so often forget this. Instead, I get caught up in the notion that faith is about circumstances. Like, for example, if I pray for something and it turns out well, then it’s a sign of my faith. And if I pray for something and it doesn’t turn out well, it’s a sign of my lack of faith because if I really had faith, the circumstances would have turned out the way I had hoped or expected. But this is where my faith gets all messed up.

I was reading again in Hebrews 11 & 12 today. I often refer to Hebrews 11 because I like to be reminded of all those people who had faith to do great things like “overthrow kingdoms, shut the mouths of lions, quench the flames of fire, escape death by the edge of a sword, etc.” (Hebrews 11:33). It says “their weakness was turned to strength.” I like this because as far as I’m concerned, I’ve got way too many weaknesses and not enough strength…and quite frankly, reading it makes me feel a whole lot less depressed about my lack of strength. You know, like there’s actually hope for me.

But that’s not the whole enchilada. Verse 35 says, “But others trusted God and were tortured, preferring to die rather than turn from God and be free.” Somehow saying that there were other people WITH JUST AS MUCH FAITH who were “mocked, had their backs cut open with whips, chained in dungeons, died by stoning, sawed in half, killed with the sword, went hungry in skins of sheep & goats, were oppressed and mistreated” (vs. 36 & 37) doesn’t quite make me feel as empowered. Sawed in half? Where can I sign up?

But verse 39 says “All of these people we have mentioned received God’s approval because of their faith…” (emphasis mine). So, just because things in life don’t turn out “well,” doesn’t mean I lack faith. Faith is keeping my eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2), not the circumstances.

Hmmm. I guess there is hope for me after all.

Category: Deep Thoughts, Life

Comments

4 Responses to “The Hall of Faith”

  1. julie
    December 17th, 2005 @ 8:35 pm

    You are so right on…so much of what people see about “having faith” is in the context of TV evangelists who preach a false gospel that if you have enough faith you’ll get what you want, whether it’s healed of a sickness, more money, more love, etc. My guess is that these false “prophets” don’t have Job (who was a righteous man in God’s sight during his entire ordeal) in their Bible, or Paul or Peter, men who died for their faith. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen, and it is a hope someday for a heavenly country. By grace through faith– we have peace with God through Christ taking the punishment that should have been ours. I think faith is trusting in God’s sovereign plan for our lives and that we have already been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus. My problem is that I forget this almost daily…it’s good to be reminded. Thanks, Amy.

  2. caroline
    December 19th, 2005 @ 5:09 pm

    Well said Amy.

  3. cmhl
    December 23rd, 2005 @ 10:22 am

    I love visiting your blog— very thought-provoking and very “real”. thank you.

  4. Tracey
    January 2nd, 2006 @ 4:36 pm

    Awesome words…thanks for sharing!

Leave a Reply