Faith: Where The Rubber Meets The Road
Anyone can say they’re living in faith when life is easy. When every circumstance in your life is as you would hope it to be, it’s not too big of a stretch to say you’re trusting God. What happens when things don’t look so good, though? Do you stand firm in faith, realizing that no circumstance or situation changes one thing about who God is or what He says? Or do you cower backwards in fear, watching as your faith drains to frighteningly low levels?
The test of faith is standing firm when circumstances of life would try to pull you in other ways. When things don’t look or feel perfect, do you still believe God is who He says He is? Will you stand just as sure and content in the darkness as you were in the light?
Hear me, because I’m not saying that this is easy. I come at this with no judgment. I have been in such dark places that I was sure I’d never see the light again! But I also know what it feels like to go both ways with my faith in those times. I’ve cowered to fear so strong that I felt bound and was literally crippled and tormented and so far from faith that I forgot how to even spell it! But I’ve also fought. I’ve seen circumstance pointing me in some very bad directions, and in those times, I’ve literally had to put on my armor (Ephesians 6:10-20) and fight the fight of faith. I’ve chosen in those moments (despite what I may or may not feel) to stand on the Word of God and only allow His voice and Word to be my reality.
We often become overwhelmed when life gets rocky and we wonder what we’ve done wrong. Surely, we reason, if we are in God’s plan, then these bad (see: less than ideal, not welcomed, torturous) things wouldn’t be able to come into our lives, right? Sadly, that’s a huge misunderstanding about faith. God never promised life would be easy. In contrast, He spent a large amount of time encouraging us in our faith and teaching us how to use the tools He’s given us to fight when those times come (see: they will come). Sounds to me a lot more like He knew that hard times were unavoidable, but that He’d prepared us with His Word in advance.
What kind of day are you having today? A day so easy that you can practically live it faith-free? Or a day that is tormenting you and threatening to knock you down and subsequently knock your faith levels down to nil? If you’re in the middle of something hard, take heart! You have been given the tools to fight back! Stand on God’s Word. Hold fast to your faith, even when you can’t seem to see 3 feet in front of you. This is your opportunity to put your faith to the test and strengthen it by use. It’s true, because if you continue to stand in faith when it feels hard to do so, you’ll find that you come out of this trial (and you will come out of it!) with a renewed strength of faith. It’s like any muscle that you exercise – unpleasant during the workout itself, but stronger for it when you’re done.
Be strong today! These are the moments that define our faith! This is faith where the rubber meets the road, and today might be a chance to show what yours is made of! Be strong! Fight!
