Real Faith Is Hard Work

Proceed At Your Own Risk

The sermon we heard yesterday was a good reminder of what I know to be true about faith: it often involves risk. In fact, without risk, faith isn’t really being practiced. If we already could see all of the outcomes and they seemed reasonable, why would we need faith?

Sometimes we think of faith as an end in itself, but that’s not what the Bible teaches. Faith has been designed by God to make us more Christlike. Becoming more like Christ is a lifelong process of growth; and growth almost always has some pain attached to it. That’s why struggling in our faith doesn’t mean we’re sinning or not on track with God – it’s just part of growing. A perfect example of this is Job’s story in the Old Testament: his struggle with trusting God moved him closer to God and was therefore ordained by God.

We all go through different things and face different trials. We all have to practice exercising faith, and we all struggle at times to trust God in the midst of our messy lives. During the era that I was being raised, the songs and sermons I heard on a regular basis fostered the idea that the Christian life is always happy and is easy. There is still an element of teaching out there that caters to a Christianity of comfort. But faith is not always easy, and comfortable Christianity is powerless. Real power and real joy only happen when we allow God to work in us as we continue to work hard and struggle in our faith (Philippians 2:12-13). How grateful I am that my faith is in a God who can always be trusted because his character is unchanging and he always keeps his promises!

Hidden in My Heart

I was challenged by a homeless man the other day, and it was something I wasn’t expecting. I am used to getting smiles without a lot of eye contact from the regulars I see each month who come for the meal that members of our church serve to them. But I had never seen this man before, and his question caught me off guard.

As I handed him a cup of milk and some juice or water for the road, he looked straight at me and said, “Tell me a verse – something you heard this morning.” For a moment, I froze. Though I spend time nearly every day in the Word, I had spent that morning getting myself ready for a busy day of shopping and serving lunch to homeless strangers. Of all the days for someone to ask me what I had read that morning in Scripture!

Besides that, anyone who knows me well knows that I don’t do “ad lib” things. It was a running joke during my years playing keyboards for worship team that the leader could not expect me to deliver on an ad lib solo like he could from the other members of the instrumental team. My mind goes completely blank when put on the spot, and I would probably forget my name if asked unexpectedly!

I also never got the spontaneity gene. The term my family uses to describe my approach to spur-of-the-moment things is “planned spontaneity”. Of course that’s an oxymoron – but that’s the only way I know how to roll! So this man’s question stopped me in my tracks.

Seeing my hesitation, he then modified his request: “Maybe something out of Proverbs.” Secretly I appreciated his help to focus me, but it still took a second to come up with an appropriate response. The first verse in Proverbs that came to mind was “Train up a child in the way he should go . . .” (Proverbs 22:6, NIV); but that didn’t seem overly appropriate for a man in his seventies! So I said a quick “Help me, Lord” in my mind, and God answered with a better choice: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding . . .” (Proverbs 3:5, NIV). My beverage-serving partner chimed in to finish the thought of verse 6: “. . . in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” The man expressed his appreciation and then sat down to eat his meal.

I’ve thought about this encounter and am thankful for God’s help when I needed it. I have “hidden God’s word in my heart” (Psalm 119:11) since I was a little girl, and I probably have committed dozens of verses to memory over the years. Yet I am still a weak vessel in need of God’s help to be the light he wants me to be in the world. While we are all called on to “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1 Peter 3:15, NIV), Scripture also makes it clear that we need the Spirit to help us in our weaknesses (Romans 8:26). This is the cooperative effort that is referred to in Philippians 2:12-13 – God working in us as we continue to work out our Christian walk.

Within the interconnectedness of relationship with God as we abide in Christ, we can accomplish whatever God asks us to do (Philippians 4:13). But, on our own, we can do nothing (John 15:5). And, as I was reminded last week, this is a moment-by-moment process where we draw on what is stored inside us from reading the Word and being taught by good teachers – and also call on God to fill in the gaps in our human nature and shine through us. What a privilege to be in partnership with Almighty God! Time to go memorize another verse . . .


“I am the vine, you are the branches . . .
apart from me you can do nothing.”
(John 15:5, ESV)