Take a Leap of Faith

 

Faith is hard. I don’t know why it is, but it is.

But when you stop and think about, each of us uses faith every day in almost every aspect of our lives. I have faith that when I step on the sidewalk, it’s going to be solid. We have faith that when I go to sleep, I’m going to wake up. We have faith in gravity and faith that our body is going to work the way it’s supposed to.

I’ve always admired Doubting Thomas. I don’t know why he gets a bad wrap. He is like so many of us—he has trouble believing without seeing. Despite the fact that we exercise faith everyday, faith in God seems to be very difficult, and it’s not hard to see why, especially in light of the state of the world today. So, when Thomas demanded to see the nail holes in order to believe, he is really speaking the way many of us do. The beauty is, he didn’t actually need the nail holes to believe that Jesus rose from the dead. He only needed Jesus to offer to show him the nail holes. I am like Thomas. I suspect most of us are.

Hebrews 11:1 says “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

This is a very well known Bible verse and I think it’s one that is easy to gloss over…but lets’ break it down for a moment. This verse actually defines what faith is. It is the substance of things hoped for. The living Bible translates is as “ It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen.” The way I read is, faith isn’t just believing. It’s believing in what you want to happen. When I step on the sidewalk, I don’t want to sink into the ground. I want the sidewalk to support me—and it does. Faith is a choice. You can choose to have faith, or you can choose not too.

But, faith is not blind and it’s not foolishness because faith is the evidence of things not seen.  It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead. Faith is a confident belief that what we want to happen will happen. It’s based on evidence, experience and, well, belief.

I struggle with faith. I want to believe that when I pass away that I will join the Father in Heaven and then on the New Earth. I want to believe that Jesus died for me and forgave my sins and that all I have to do is accept this forgiveness to be by His side when I die. I have to have that faith. But I’ve never died before. No one I know has ever died and come back and told me what happens. So, I’m left with my own life experiences, I’m left with the word of God, and with the evidence here on earth.

Science, contrary to what many say, proves the existence of God to me. The Universe is so vast and intricate. Our exact placement on earth from the sun is the perfect distance to ensure survival. Even our very existence on this planet, so perfect for life to flourish, is a miracle of God. While I understand that science can be used to explain away a need for God, I choose to think of science as the confirmation of Go, and, frankly, arguments to the contrary seem flimsy. This does not mean that I don't believe in the theory of evolution and other scientific laws that, on the surface, appear to contradict the Bible. But that is, perhaps, a discussion for another day. I don't want to waylay the purpose of this post. 

Putting your faith in what you can see with your senses is not faith. Faith requires some sense of trust, belief, and vulnerability. Faith requires risk. 

If God is real, and the God of the Bible is real, than I choose to believe and I choose to live my life as if He is real, hoping for that which is unseen. I’m always going to have doubts. I know I’m not alone in this, but, I also know, in the depths of my soul that God is real, that Jesus is His Son, and that the Holy Spirit guides me. In fact, it is the Holy Spirit that helps us to act in faith. You don’t have rely on your own strength for Faith—you have a helper.

 

So, take that leap of faith. The journey will be worth it, I promise.