Devotion Twenty Eight
March 3.29.22
WITH FAITH ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE – BUT NOT EASY
I recently saw that message on a church sign. I like it. It reminds me that we do usually want faith to be easy. Maybe we want God or Jesus to do the heavy lifting. We just have to trust that it will get taken care of. If things don’t come to fruition the way we hope, then it must be because God or Jesus didn’t want that for us. It’s easy to think that way but I don’t think that is how faith actually works.
I think we have to do our part. And it is often difficult and challenging. And the more we trust our faith, the deeper we are called to go. And this can lead us quite a distance from where we thought we were or wanted to be.
One of the most important things we are called to do when we live out our faith is to give up control. And that’s a challenge in and of itself. Faith involves letting go of the outcome of a situation. Doing the right thing regardless of how it may turn out. Faith involves giving up what we thought we wanted and following the way of Jesus which may result in a better outcome though we may not see it that way for a long time. Faith involves letting go of our time line. Remember Abraham and Sarah! It may involve adjusting our financial plans. I remember some years ago someone from the church postponing going on a cruise so they could make an additional financial gift to the church. Faith may
involve putting ourselves at odds with people close to us. Faith may involve planting seeds that we may never see bear fruit. The seeds may bear fruit, we just may never know about it. Faith involves giving up control over ‘concrete, measurable’ results. Something our society craves. It is the measurement for the validity and value of everything! But not faith!
Just the letting go of our standards and expectations can be a challenge before you even get to what we may be called to actually do when we live by faith! But oh how amazing and glorious things may be when we follow the way of Jesus. There are surprises and gifts and blessings we could not have imagined. Things happening, unfolding, changing, healing that we could never have anticipated. Abundance and assurance that was never expected. People and projects that provide purpose and meaning. We never could have known. The wildness of that mercy.
Yup. With faith all things are possible but not easy.
Prayer
Take a few moments to reflect thinking about how your faith has impacted your life. What do you see?
May we let go of our desire to have things easy. May we embrace the unknown. Give in to trust. And see where the way of Jesus leads. The way may be hard but the views will be glorious! Amen.
Lakewood United Church of Christ 