Faith Does Not Come with a Guarantee

When we have the privilege of staying in a hotel somewhere, one habit of mine is to leave a light on in the bathroom so we can find our way in the dark.  I know my way here at home, but in a strange place, I need light. 

All my life, I’ve heard dozens and hundreds of sermons on faith. 

     Have faith

          Test your faith

               Stretch your faith

                    Grow up in faith

Recently, the thought came to me that faith is not lived in the light.  It’s learned and lived in the dark. 

Think about this: 

Faith does not come with a guarantee.

Wow!  That puts things into perspective.

The whole concept of faith is trust. 

And faith, I might add, is not just for people in the church.  Every day of our lives we demonstrate faith in varying degrees. 

Driving on any freeway in the world is an act of faith.

We ate at one of our favorite restaurants recently and Carolyn got a touch of food poisoning.  We had faith in that restaurant, yet …

Living a life of faith is not lived in the light.  It’s lived in the dark. 

That is the beauty of faith, I think. 

We understand that faith is discovered in darkness over and over again, and we learn to trust the darkness. 

Trusting the darkness.  That is huge. 

Faith means

Not seeing where the money comes from, yet it arrives
  

Not seeing the next step to take, but taking that step anyway

Not seeing the job needed yet discovering odd jobs that bring in the money

Not seeing the improved behavior but trusting that it shows up soon

Not seeing love expressed yet knowing it is there.

Living life is an act of faith every day.

There are no guarantees in faith.

Just trust.

Scary isn’t it?

Yes it is. 

But with time, we embrace faith; we embrace the unknown, in all of the varied experiences of our lives.

Faith with Guarantees?

No such thing.

               Just faith. 

                              And so we go boldly forward.

I Believe

I believe in the sun, even though it doesn’t shine.

I believe in love, even when it isn’t shown.

I believe in God, even when he doesn’t speak.

(Written by eyes that chose to see the unseen.)