The faith of so many of the individuals contained in the bible amazes me at times. You think about Jacob and how he continued to trust God through everything that he was put through by Laban. He endured years of being swindled and misled by his own father in law. God walked with him through it and gave him guidance, but I wonder if in the middle of it he ever wondered why God would allow it.
Esther had such courage to risk her life and follow God into what could have been her own death. She faithfully served God and ultimately saw her people saved and justice served. Again though I wonder how she felt during the darker times.
In Mark we see the faith of friends who do whatever it takes to make sure their friend would have the chance to be healed by Jesus. Climbing on a roof, lowering him down, bypassing hundreds of others who had gathered, basically cutting in line, they didn’t care about appearances. Their faith drove them.
In all of these cases, faith was more than just heartfelt, but was life lived. Their faith was showed through action and choices in their lives. Regardless of the fear or doubt that they probably felt, they moved.
Then I look at my own faith. Now, I believe with all my heart the bible is true and Jesus is who He said He was. In church I worship with all my heart. Facing adversity, I trust God through it all. When it comes to many things, I know my head and heart are in the right place, but sometimes, many times, my actions do not live up to my believe. I stand silent so many times when I should speak up. I fail to move to action when God’s love needs to be tangible to someone.
So am I being too hard on myself when comparing my life to theirs? Probably, but I believe God calls us to analyze ourselves and see how we can do better. To ask “So how am I doing? Where can God stretch and use me more?” And it doesn’t have to be giant leaps at a time, maybe just baby steps. The main thing is to not give up, but instead move day by day towards living that Christ-centered life that we are all called to.
Most times the best prayer is the simplest. God help me.
Allen (allen4myfamily)
Sixty-six books in a year 