“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 KJV
I know it has been a while since I last posted something. The end of last year and continuing into this year has been quite the roller coaster. I’ve had to face the death of a sister and sister-in-law, caring for an elderly parent alone and relationship issues, personally and professionally. Not to mention adjusting to life during a full blown pandemic. I admit I have been tremendously overwhelmed trying to juggle everything while keeping the façade of being completely in control and calm. If you would have asked me how I’m doing, I would have convincingly told you, I’m fine but all the while I would be in full panic mode because I know at any point one of the balls I’m juggling is going to drop and shatter into a million pieces that can never be put back together again. And one of those balls could very well be my sanity. I found myself angry, depressed and asking God why was He allowing these things to happen to me. Couldn’t He see me drowning out here? Does He love?
It says in Hebrews 11:1 that “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” I realized that I was no longer hoping and I wasn’t alone. It seemed like a lot of people around me were no longer hoping either. We were all scared and instead of sitting on the edge of our seats for something amazing to happen, we were bracing ourselves for the next storm. We were losing our faith.
Faith isn’t ignoring or wishing our problems away. It’s not even faking it until we make it. It’s saying, “yes, I see the problem. I see the mountain. It’s scary and painful but God is bigger and I’m going to trust Him to get me through this. It’s probably not going to happen the way I want it to or even when I want it to.”
Faith takes patience and courage but more importantly, it takes humility. I had to admit I wasn’t in control. I was overwhelmed, scared and yes, even angry. I realized that God did see me drowning and His hand was there but I had to let my pride drop and shatter into a million pieces, in order to grab hold of His hand.
Sometimes, I look back at the water below and see sharks swimming towards me because it doesn’t feel like He’s lifting me out fast enough. I may be tempted to let go and figure out a way to get away faster but I have to lift my head back up towards Him. It has taken continual prayer from friends, family and myself to stay in faith. It has also taken spending time alone with God and reading His Word in order to even distinguish His voice from my fears. It has been a difficult and unending journey.
I know I’m not the only one on this journey. We all have moments where our faith may waver. Please feel free to share how you stay in faith. I’m praying for you.
“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Hebrews 11:6 KJV
Balm 4 the Soul 