“Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.” (Hebrews 11:1 NLT)
A small boy in England was asked by a scientist to be lowered down on a rope over the side of a cliff to recover some important specimens. “We will pay you greatly,“ he said. Without hesitation the boy said very sternly, “No!” The scientist tried to persuade the boy by explaining the durability and strength of the device they would use to lower him. Still the boy refused. It was only after his father agreed to hold the rope that the boy would be lowered down to retrieve the specimen.
Ney Bailey in her book Faith Is Not a Feeling defined faith as “believing God’s Word is more true than anything you think, see or feel.” I believe that’s what the writer of the Hebrew letter meant in the verse above. Our faith is only as strong as the One in whom our faith rests. To believe the whims of emotion or the chants of society is to believe in a system that will surely fail.
I’m convinced the reason a lot of people struggle with their faith is they have the wrong person holding their “rope.” The only One strong enough to hold our faith and to keep us from falling is Jesus. To trust ourselves in any way, shape, or form is to assure ourselves of failure. To believe we can be good enough, serve long enough, persevere trials in our own strength is to fail to see the God of the Bible for who He really is.
Faith in Christ doesn’t call us to performance, it calls us to obedience. To “follow” Christ without submitting to His authority and rulership in and over us is to miss that to which Christ calls us. In the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “He bids us come and die!” Jesus said in Luke 9:23-24: “If any of you wants to be My follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow Me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for My sake, you will save it.”
Just to be clear, what is the purpose of a cross? You don’t take up your cross like you take up your swimsuit and head to the beach. A cross was an instrument of death. The ONLY reason anyone got nailed to a cross was to die. What does that mean in practical terms?
It means, as Jesus said, “you must turn from your selfish ways.” How does that translate? It means doing what pleases Jesus rather than what pleases us; it means turning from sinful folly and turning to the fulfillment of God’s will for our lives. How so? By living out the fruit of the Spirit in our relationships: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
A Spirit-filled believer, which is the ONLY kind there is, is controlled by the Holy Spirit, not by his/her selfish desires. Does that mean we never have an evil thought or desire? Of course not! But we don’t yield to them, we overcome them by the power of the Spirit and, if necessary, the help of a spouse or close friend.
Following Jesus isn’t a solo act. One of the most valuable ways to support your success as a believer is to surround yourself with like minded friends who will hold you accountable for how you’re walking out your faith. These are your 2 a.m. friends that you can call day or night, and you know they have your back. These are the people in your life the Lord has given you to hold the “rope” of your faith; people you can trust with your life; people who won’t tuck tail and run when you’re losing it and life gets scary; people who will help you stay your faith course.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 