In black, bold, script lettering, set against a background of soft, flowing pastel colors are words that, to me, give intellectual sense to spiritual truth that is often difficult for me to grasp. Those framed words sit on my desk and continually renew their pertinence and reality. Faith is a choice. The rest is up to God. The words don’t quite sound like the rendering of Hebrews 11:1 that I learned as a young person, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” I had always interpreted that verse to mean that if my faith could be big enough, strong enough, and constant enough, then the truths of God would become almost tangible. And yet, that has never happened. I have discovered that “substance” has more to do with having a foundation for faith, and words like assurance, certainty, conviction, or confidence describe the characteristics of faith, but not the end result. Matthew Henry describes the characteristics of faith as being a firm persuasion or expectation that creates a reality, not that is tangible to the human senses, but a reality that forms itself within the soul of a believer.
Lynn Anderson dares to say what some silently cry out to hear. “Some people think that faith means a lack of doubt, but that’s not true.” Faith may hesitate, doubt, or question but it has a God-ward direction and focus. That direction strengthens faith, but it doesn’t bring tangible evidence. The hesitations, doubts, and questions cause us to dig deeper, to pursue a reality that can form itself within our souls so that we tighten our grasp and continue walking and believing. Lynn Anderson also brings us back to the words on my desk. Faith is a choice. I make that choice as I experience life and as I experience it in relationship with God. My spirit longs to touch Him, to feel Him, to examine the wounds in His hands and in His feet – but I can’t. That would not be faith. I must simplychoose.
I chose faith when my newborn struggled between life and death. It was not a faith that God would do, but that God would simply be. I chose faith when I could not control relationship, and left it in the hands of One who could. Faith spoke when I examined teachings that were contrary to faith, and I knew unquestionably that what I was reading was wrong. The amazing intricacies of nature allow me to choose over and over again. Faith brings forgiveness, and the abrasive bondage of guilt is severed. I chose faith when the prodigal turned away, and I walked with sustaining faith that allows a mother to grieve, even while she hopes.
I simply choose, and the rest is up to God. Isn’t that what God ultimately wants from us? To leave it in His hands, to allow Hischaracter to be known, to submit to the fulfillment of His purposes, to wait for the intangible to become tangible? Faith, as we have sometimes approached it, may seem nebulous, but I know when I choose, and that choosing is faith when I leave the rest to Him.
(Related Bible reading: Hebrews 11:1, 7-13)
Lynn Anderson dares to say what some silently cry out to hear. “Some people think that faith means a lack of doubt, but that’s not true.” Faith may hesitate, doubt, or question but it has a God-ward direction and focus. That direction strengthens faith, but it doesn’t bring tangible evidence. The hesitations, doubts, and questions cause us to dig deeper, to pursue a reality that can form itself within our souls so that we tighten our grasp and continue walking and believing. Lynn Anderson also brings us back to the words on my desk. Faith is a choice. I make that choice as I experience life and as I experience it in relationship with God. My spirit longs to touch Him, to feel Him, to examine the wounds in His hands and in His feet – but I can’t. That would not be faith. I must simplychoose.
I chose faith when my newborn struggled between life and death. It was not a faith that God would do, but that God would simply be. I chose faith when I could not control relationship, and left it in the hands of One who could. Faith spoke when I examined teachings that were contrary to faith, and I knew unquestionably that what I was reading was wrong. The amazing intricacies of nature allow me to choose over and over again. Faith brings forgiveness, and the abrasive bondage of guilt is severed. I chose faith when the prodigal turned away, and I walked with sustaining faith that allows a mother to grieve, even while she hopes.
I simply choose, and the rest is up to God. Isn’t that what God ultimately wants from us? To leave it in His hands, to allow Hischaracter to be known, to submit to the fulfillment of His purposes, to wait for the intangible to become tangible? Faith, as we have sometimes approached it, may seem nebulous, but I know when I choose, and that choosing is faith when I leave the rest to Him.
(Related Bible reading: Hebrews 11:1, 7-13)
