Friday, March 10, 2017

How Strong is Your Faith?

I have faith.  Just have faith!  Where's your faith?

These are phrases that I hear all the time.  People want faith, they crave it.  When someone's down, it's a natural response to talk about faith.  I've used a "faith" phrase many, many times for many different scenarios.

BUT.... Here's the truth...

Your faith is only as strong as the object your faith is in.

You can have all the faith in the world to get you through your time of sorrow, anxiety, stress, whatever you're going through, but if your faith is in the wrong thing or person then it's not going to do much good for you.  Think about it.  If you're going to walk out onto a lake that is frozen over, you are putting faith in that ice, believing that it's thick enough to hold you without breaking.  If the ice is thick enough then your faith is founded and you should be ok.  However, if the ice is too thin to walk on, it doesn't matter how much faith you have walking out there, you're going through the ice.  It's more about the object your faith is in, and not so much the faith itself.

I was on a flight recently that took us through some heavy wind and storms.  The turbulence wasn't dangerous, but it was definitely scary for me.  As I sat there praying that we land safely I was keenly aware of the fact that God was the one in control of this plane, not the pilot.  Yes, I have a level of faith in the skills of the pilot, believing that he knows what he's doing and how to maneuver this aircraft, but my faith that held me together was that God controls the wind. God is the one who has control over life and death.  My faith is not what kept me sane, it was WHO my faith was in that calmed my fears that night.  

 So, next time you see a post on Facebook that vaguely refers to faith as a general practice for every person to feel better (and you likely saw it on my page!), just remember that it's not the faith itself that is important.  Who is your faith in?  If it's in anything or anyone other than the one true God of the universe, then it is misplaced and it will fail.  How do you find true faith in God?  Only through His son, Jesus Christ can you truly experience the freedom that real faith brings.  This is why Jesus can say in Matthew 17:20 "if you have faith the size of a mustard seed you can say to this mountain move from here to there and it will be moved."  He's the mountain mover!

So, where's your faith?