When I was a boy, my older half-brother Gregg would occasionally become gymnastics apparatus for us younger neighborhood children. As he lay on his back with his bent knees pointing skyward, we would take turns running toward him like a gymnast approaching the vault, place both hands on his knees and hurl our feet up and over our heads, our momentum carrying us forward. Then at the right fraction of a second, Gregg would catch our oncoming shoulders in his hands and propel us the rest of the way forward over his head. Completing our flip, our feet would descend back to earth and we’d stick the landing. I must confess that, though convinced of Gregg’s ability and reliability, for quite some time I watched others entrust themselves to the safety of his hands before I dared to do the same. Therein lay the difference between belief and faith.
We can acknowledge God to be everything He claims to be—this would be belief. Yet faith goes farther than mere intellectual assent: faith acts on belief. In faith, we entrust ourselves entirely to God, His character, and His promises, for in the Biblical meaning of the word, “faith” is inseparable from entrustment. Only in faith do we place ourselves entirely in the hands of the capable and reliable God, believing His promises, doing what He inspires us to do and venturing where He leads us to go. In fact, the Bible often commends what Paul calls “the obedience that comes from faith”1—free and secure in the reality of who God is, we eagerly join Him as He works through us to love the people around us. In this way, “faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.”2
So what might God call you to do today in faith? Beckon you to rest in the assurance of His love for you? Grace you to extend to another the forgiveness you have received from Him? Will God urge you to share a story of His work in your life, or to give of your time and/or funds to someone who needs either or both? Will the Spirit inspire you to pray with someone who needs hope? You may already know His call for you today, or you may recognize it as it unfolds before you. Regardless of His call, may we respond in faith, throwing ourselves into the reliable hands of the unseen God.
Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:8-9).
Father, help me to leave doubt behind and to cast myself upon You in faith today. Strengthen me to trust and obey You. In Christ I pray. Amen.
1 Romans 1:5
2 Hebrews 11:1 NLT
Categories
Paul Nordman—Author 