Stronger Faith
by Tom Ellsworth
… without faith it is impossible to please God…
Hebrews 11.6
Skydiving is on my bucket list. I suspect fewer folks share my dream than those who would prefer to keep both feet firmly planted on good ol’ terra firma. What does skydiving have to do with faith? I’m glad you asked; let me explain. Most, if not all, believe in the existence of parachutes. However, jumping out of a perfectly good airplane is quite a different story. You see, believing in the existence of parachutes is not the same as having faith in parachutes. Only when one springs from the open aircraft door while wearing a parachute has faith been enjoined. Once in the air, only the parachute can save. That’s trust! Skydiving is a statement of faith. The skydiver not only believes in the design and purpose of the parachute, he trusts the parachute with his very life and demonstrates such trust by leaving the safety of the plane.
Frequently, I hear people say something like this, “I have faith; I believe there is a God.” In that statement, faith and belief are used as synonyms, but are they? I can believe in many things without having faith in those things. Again, let me stress that merely believing isn’t the same as having faith. Belief coupled with trust, however, produces the faith we see demonstrated throughout Scripture.
Most Christians seldom struggle with the believing aspect of faith. We settled the issue of believing in God long ago. Trusting God is another matter entirely. Perhaps it is our American legacy that we “pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps” that complicates our trust. We are an independent people.
Or perhaps it is our affluence that causes us to struggle with trust. After all, who among us needs to pray, “give us this day our daily bread?” Since our pantries and refrigerators could easily sustain most of us for the next several days, we fail to see the need to trust God for our next lunch. That’s unfortunate because God in his grace has supplied our every need, including full pantries and well-stocked refrigerators.
Consequently, when needs and situations arise that are beyond our ability to provide, we panic. We’re independent, remember? We rely on our own capabilities. Could it be that we don’t know how to trust God?
One of the goals in being a shepherd of God’s flock, is that we model godly trust for the congregation. Perhaps the following questions will help us analyze the effectiveness of our trust.
How do you feel when you pray, and heaven is silent? Does your faith remain strong, or do you doubt God’s promise to hear and answer, even if the answer is no?
When your child is struck with a debilitating disease, can you still trust God that all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose?
When you lose your job and the pantry dwindles to nothing and the savings account bottoms out at zero, do you trust God to supply your every need, or do you think it all depends on you?
When your spouse dies unexpectedly, can you still trust God for all your tomorrows?
When frustrated church members create disunity in the congregation, do you seek God and trust that he will provide wisdom to handle the crisis, or do you throw up your hands and give up in despair?
At such points, just believing in God isn’t enough. May I suggest such situations demand trust and that trust in God is the measure of our faith’s strength? The greater the trust, the stronger our faith. As leaders in the church, we must set the bar high when it comes to trusting God.
Here’s another “trust test” – are you a worrier? Jesus promised us that God can and will take care of us if we put him first, stop worrying and trust him. I like what Rick Warren wrote. “Worry is the warning light that God is really not first in my life at this particular moment.”
To illustrate his point, in Matthew six, Jesus references two parts of creation – plants and birds. They don’t worry; God takes care of them; we are more important than plants and birds. If the plants and birds don’t worry, why should I? Elton Trueblood wrote, “Faith is not belief without proof, but trust without reservation.” I think it is time to let God be God in our lives and trust him implicitly.
No two people handle worry alike, but the Bible is clear on its impact.
Proverbs 12:25 (NLT) Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up.
Ecclesiastes 11:10 (NLT) So refuse to worry and keep your body healthy.
1 Peter 5:7 (NLT) Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
Elisha Otis did not invent the elevator; he did devise the braking system that ensured its safety. Without a trustworthy braking system, building heights were limited to a mere six stories. But a braking system for elevators made modern skyscrapers possible. At first, Otis had trouble selling his elevators. People worried about riding such contraptions. Then at the 1853 New York Crystal Palace Exhibition (the World's Fair of its day), Otis changed the world’s view of elevators when he stepped into his machine and gave the order to an assistant to cut the rope. The crowd held its breath. The brake kicked in; the elevator stopped after dropping only a few inches. Today, it's estimated that the equivalent of the world's population travels on an Otis elevator, escalator, or moving walkway every three days. It was his implicit trust that sold the world. The next time you ride an elevator, think about the power of trust.
I don’t know if I’ll ever find myself tethered to the cords of a parachute, drifting through the sky. But this I do know; the God of the universe, the Creator and Sustainer of life, the King of kings and Lord of lords is worthy of our highest trust! Don’t just believe, live with a stronger faith. Trust him with your dying breath.
