For when skies grow dark.

My latest post at the Living a Life of Faith blog.

Trusting God When No One’s Looking

This just might be the age of the personal quest. People are biking across country or running 52 marathons in 52 weeks or doing something every day for a year. Feats like these are markers, pinpointing the place where heart and action crossed paths and joined hands.

I’ve had a few of those myself—not big enough to draw media attention or anything, but big for me. In these feats, my need for God’s presence and strength was evident, exercising and stretching my faith. I cherish what I learned and the experiences I gained.

But in between these major feats I have a lot of regular life to walk out,

How to Stretch Your Faith Muscles

For this post in my series on Faith and Risk, I’ve asked some dear friends to ponder and respond to this question: In what way would you like to deepen your faith in the Lord Jesus by taking greater risk? Here are the replies I’ve received so far. And be sure to add your thoughts to the mix!

Catch up on previous Faith and Risk posts:

Living on the Edge (Sort Of) | Fearful My Fears Will Frighten the Life Out of Me | Faith and Risk: Featuring Amanda Knussman

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Thoughts from Lisa Burton

Hmm. God doesn’t really MAKE things easy for us. This is a topic I have struggled with often. I am not afraid to take some risks and trust God. I happen to be a “picker and chooser” of my risk taking. I believe I am wired to be more of a risk taker but the fear of failure in certain areas prohibits me from the challenges and blessings He offers. I desire to follow my passions in ministry and have been SLOWLY exploring my field, so to speak. (I have always been involved in ministries I have enjoyed or have talents in, but not passion.) I must admit I am scared to fail. Many people see me as strong, secure, bold, and in some ways, I am these, but there is a scared little girl inside who does not always think much of herself. I know, however, if I do not try that that is the true failure. You can list me as Lisa Burton. (See, there are some risks I am willing to take, and being “nakedly bold” about myself is one of them.)

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Thoughts from Kim S.

Because I am a weak and wounded sinner, I have a difficult time remembering that Jesus wants me to come to Him so I can really live. God gives me a choice every day to choose life or not. I feel that in order to choose life I must continually deepen my faith. Because life is hard. So, I guess I would like to deepen my faith to the point to where I won’t forget that Jesus wants me to live by faith. It will be like breathing, I could not survive without doing it. However, it is kinda scary to pray for this . . . am I really willing to go through the fire to be refined by God? That takes a huge risk. Because I may have to go through difficulties to develop the kind of faith I desire. In order to follow Jesus into greater risk I must first know Him and then the risk will be not quite as scary. The more often I do follow Him into areas that have risk involved I do experience His love and faithfulness, and then I am even more ready to take the next step in my walk of faith.

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Thoughts from Rubie

Faith. What a funny word. “I have faith in this” or “I hope in that.” The thing that I get so confused with is that these two statements are not tantamount. In Hebrews, it says that faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Sure, I believe that God can do anything, but the question is whether or not I have faith that He can. Well, I look at the way I’m living, and I have to answer no. If I truly went beyond just belief (Heck, the Bible says that even the demons believe!), I’m pretty sure that I wouldn’t be sitting here right now living a “normal life.” . . . Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are great examples of how belief is surpassed by faith. They knew that once they were thrown in the fire, it would be physically impossible to come out alive. So why did they challenge the king anyway? Because they went beyond just belief. They had faith. . . .

I would have never had the courage to attempt these feats myself. . . . These people make such an impression on me because, in contrast to my “want it now” mindset, they knew that they may never live to see God’s promises, and yet they continued anyway. In Hebrews 11:13, it says “all these died in faith, without receiving the promises but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance.” God has really put on my heart recently is that we live our lives so much by belief rather than this radical faith that we see throughout the Bible. If God called us to fight . . . and to lose, would we still go on? I praise God in my victory, but would I be able to see His face in defeat? These questions are a knife in my heart. It makes me wonder what kind of a generation we could be if we fully trusted that God will make everything right in the end; trust it so much that we would be willing to sacrifice the brief stay we have on earth in order to receive our reward in an incomprehensible eternity. Who would I be if I truly lived by faith?

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Thoughts from S

Well, Erin, as I began thinking about your question, along with the explanation you gave to it, my first thought was . . . well, I am definitely placing my life in his hands, but not because I really wanted to, but because there is no other option.

I don’t mean “no other option” in an angry or resentful way, but more that I am being truly humbled by cancer and am seeing that I really don’t have any say over this stuff, but that God has all the say. And in a huge way, that is a relief! I cannot do anything good or funny or smart or generous, etc., that makes any difference—God is God and I am his. And now my role is just to figure out how to do what he wants me to do in all of this. That has become my prayer to him—that I do this thing well; that I don’t let him down in what he wants to accomplish through me. What an awful thing it would be to do all of this cancer stuff and yet stand in his way somehow of accomplishing something, or reaching someone!

So back to your question . . . the risk I’d like to take, while holding God’s hand, is to joyfully explore this new adventure and be an open conduit to what he wants to accomplish. I’m not a social butterfly by any means, so striking up conversations with folks about cancer, much less how my faith is making the journey not only possible but in some ways exciting and interesting, is a tall order for me. But, I plan to get there! This is an area of my faith that I want to explore and perhaps this is yet another (in a growing list) of reasons that this phase of my life is happening . . . much to ponder! —S

Fearful My Fears Will Frighten the Life Out of Me

Is your life managed by a set of preservation rules? Do you hang back in life out of fear of the what-ifs and the maybes? How much time do you spend making life more comfortable or easy or safe?

I’ve been pondering these questions for myself. (I don’t necessarily like the answers.)

Lest you think I ascribe to asceticism, please know that my desire is to be a Christian Hedonist—one who pursues the pleasure and comfort found in God. Pastor and author John Piper, in his book Desiring God, summarizes the mandate as follows: “The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever.” Piper asserts that God designed humans to seek pleasure—therefore, the trouble is that we settle for fleeting pleasures instead of seeking the eternal enjoyment found in God Himself. (See this brief explanation of Christian Hedonism for additional insight.)

Tying this back to my opening question, I am disappointed in my pursuits because they are mostly about me seeking fleeting comfort or flimsy security or avoiding physical or emotional discomfort.

Which is so sad, because perfect comfort and security—both physical and emotional—is available in Jesus Himself. As my heart is trained to feast on Jesus, the fleeting ways I try to soothe myself will be rendered void and the excessive worries about health and safety and comfort will fade. So that’s the path I’m on; a slow journey, but my eyes are set there nonetheless!

Last week, I posted how my excessive concern for safety could inhibit me from getting things done in life. The example I gave was my hesitancy in showering during a thunderstorm. Such common sense rules create a very small yard within which to roam. Fear has a way of tightening the boundaries on our lives. And I don’t like to feel so penned in by things that are not likely to happen anyhow.

That’s the sort of thing I want to avoid by seeking out God Himself. More than my fear of being struck by lightning while in the shower, I fear that my fears will so constrict my life that all my time is spent keeping my fence posts in place.

So tell me, my blog-friends, why is it difficult to trust God and to rest in His provision for the comfort and safety we all desire?

A topic this deep takes more than one jab; so I’m beginning a posting series. Send along your thoughts or topics to add to the discussion, and watch for some interviews with people who are stretching their fence posts through various circumstances and trials. Hope you’ll join in!