Acts of Faith in Troubled Times
May 16, 2010
Through it all, through it all
I’ve learned to trust in Jesus, I’ve learned to trust in God.
Through it all, through it all
I’ve learned to depend upon His name.
This morning a good friend of mine asked me a simple question: “What’s up with your blog?” That caused me to contemplate the reasons that I have not blogged for the past couple of months. The list of excuses is long: work, health issues, etc. But the truth is that I failed to write because I never intended to use the blog as a dumping ground for my daily complaints. My intent is to inspire people. Whining is rarely inspirational! And lately I’ve been doing a lot of complaining: about being overworked and understaffed, about having a knee injury that has left me practically incapacitated, about having to wait so long for my mortgage to be finalized and the construction in the new condo to be done. Complaints, complaints, complaints! Whine, whine, whine!
I answered my friend: “I’ll blog when I have something positive to blog about. I don’t want my readers to pick up on my negative mood.” But the more I thought about it, the more my NOT blogging seemed antithetical to the reasons I started the blog in the first place. I began this blog to keep myself focused and to demonstrate to readers how they could stay on the road to spiritual, physical, and emotional health in the midst of ALL of life’s circumstances. If I continue to take the position that I should not blog during times of trouble or doubt, I will defeat the very purpose of www.feedingfaith.com.
Acknowledging the difficulties that we face in our everyday lives is a healthy response. Denial is unhealthy. We must be careful not to confuse denial with faith. To say, “I claim victory in the name of Jesus” in the midst of a problem without actually acknowledging the concrete ways in which the problem impacts your life, and the thing you must do to manage the problem, is not faith – it’s denial. Faith requires that we face what we know to be the current reality and still see “things unseen” and “things hoped for” beyond that reality. Talking (or blogging) about things that trouble us can be an act of faith – a step toward accepting and managing the vicissitudes of life and envisioning a victorious future, by faith.
Today I recommit myself to this blog and to the process of facing and managing trouble. Yes, there are overwhelming professional and personal challenges set before me in the coming weeks. Yes, the pain in my knee makes accomplishing even the smallest task an ordeal. I acknowledge what’s true and I will do what is required to tackle the work and manage my health. As I remain grounded in the present reality, I look toward the hills for a faith that helps me envision victory beyond the challenges and beyond the pain.
I thank God for the mountains,
And I thank God for the valleys
I thank God for the storms He’s brought me through.
For if I never had a problem,
I wouldn’t know that God could solve them,
I’d never know what Faith in God could do!
