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Was talking about this passage with a friend, and it's been on my mind since then.
There are some people in the Bible who made ringing declarations of faith ...
Joshua "choose you this day whom you will serve. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." / Elijah with the prophets of Baal ... "if Baal be god, then serve him; if God be God, then serve Him."
But there were also a lot of folks whose faith was shaky. They would have bursts of trust, followed by seasons of doubt. Even when the Lord comments on their doubts, it’s with such gentleness, and seems to go hand-in-hand with reaching out to help them.
Mary & Martha –
“Lord if you had been here, my brother would not have died. (John 11:12 & 21)
How did the Lord respond?
Harshly … right? “Why don’t you just decide to trust me, and carry on?”
No – “He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled, and said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to Him, "Lord, come and see." Jesus wept. (John 11:33-35)
He didn’t chastise them for that “if” … He felt with them, and led them to the place where they’d see Him work. He’ll lead US to that place too, if we bring our “ifs” to Him.
The disciples, as a group --
Luke 8:22-25, they were in the storm on the Sea of Galilee, and fear overwhelmed them. He said, “where is your faith?” but didn’t chastise … in fact, he didn’t even say it until AFTER He had dealt with the situation. At the cross, they all “forsook Him and fled”. Mark 14:50
Mary, at the tomb –
She assumed that the only possible reason He could be gone was that someone had taken the body. He had said several times publicly that He’d rise again. But her faith just wasn’t there. How did He deal with her? John 20:15, “Woman, why are you weeping” … then He said her name with such tenderness, that it could only be Him, and she knew. No chastisement here either. Just gentleness.
Peter, on several occasions!
When he sank beneath the waves … his faith faltered, he took his eyes off the Lord. But for goodness sake, look where he was! He was stronger in faith than any of the others there! And again, the Lord was gentle, “you of little faith, why did you doubt?” … He reached out and gathered him up.
Again when he cut off the man’s ear … the Lord had been pretty explicit in telling them what was going to happen … yet Peter didn’t trust Him … he tried to fix it himself.
Again when he denied … the events of that night, and the upcoming cross, stripped all his confidence away, and left him terrified and desolate.
Three very public failures … a minimal education, no reputation to speak of … and God turned him around, and sent him to reach out to the Jews. And he didn’t back down again!
God is not only the author of our faith, but also the perfector of it … (Heb. 12:2) One of the things Paul is thankful for about the Thessalonian Christians is that their faith is “greatly enlarged” … (2 Thess. 1:3) … it’s something for which we can be grateful in one another … we can long for each other that our faith would grow. We can pray that God would “fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power. (2 Thess. 1:11)
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Not too much exercise happened this weekend ... there were lots of things going on, and I just didn't make it out. I did have a lovely time at the demolition derby, and also went out to do some more car shopping.
I drove a little used VW Jetta that was just adorable. But I've also discovered that a brand-new Saturn Ion can be had for about $12,000 with the employee discount I get through my step-father.
So ... still pondering the matter. By the time I finally make up my mind, maybe I'll have saved enough to pay for the silly thing. :)
Trinka
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2 comments:
:)
Ya know, Trinka? I really enjoy your blog. :)
Love ya,
Carol :)
When we were looking for a home in TN, our realtor told us we could afford $50,000. We found a forclosure in Johnson City, the bank wanted $50,000. It had been on the market for a year, but the same Friday that we put a bid on it, so did two other couples. We came back with a bid of $55,000, but lost the house. It was about 18 miles from my work, but was in a nice neighborhood and had some beautiful trees in the yard. We'd already been living with K's parents for three months and were at the end of the rope. On Christmas Eve, I happened to drive by a house with a foreclosure sign in the window. It was only two miles from work. The only realtor who was still at work was also one of the few who had done business with the foreclosure company.
He opened the house that afternoon. It was 400 square feet bigger than the other home. It wasn't in great shape, but it was $7,000 less than the J.C. house and, through this foreclusure company, it came with a one-year home warranty that fixed the water heater and the heat pump.
Because it was the new year when we bid on it, we were eligible for a first-time homeowner grant from the state.
Now, with one car and our belts tightened down to the last hole, we realize we would have been in big trouble if we'd gotten that first house.
If you can recognize these times of unbelief, they sure can help reconcile your faith later when you feel that God is letting you down.
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