I think it was in high school that I first heard the illustration linking faith and chairs. It went something like sitting in chairs is an act of faith. We all have faith in something. What are you sitting on? God? Yourself? Your talents? Money?
And to all the youth group leaders out there, I’m not trying to poke holes at your teachings. It was an age appropriate illustration that has stuck with me all these years. So, kudos for that!
What if you are “sitting on God” but the chair keeps getting pulled out from you? What if you thought you heard God but now your heart is broken, or you’ve been tricked or the cancer is still growing?
Are we the Charlie Browns having faith in the Lucys of the world? Having faith that at last moment will leave us flat on our backs?
Eden Lost is sprinkled with unbelief, distrust, and disloyalty. All enemies of faith.
But faith can exist here! Ask Jacob.
Jacob was escaping Esau having tricked him out of his birthright and when he reached a certain place he slept for the night, using a rock for a pillow. He had a vivid dream and awoke saying, “Surely the Lord was in this place and I was not aware of it.”
Rob Bell says that “Faith is waking up to the God who has been here all along, I’ve just been sleeping.”
I like that.
God is at work. Am I awake to it?
Just as another saint cried out, “Help my unbelief,” I say, “Help me stay awake to you!”
Someday we won’t fall asleep on the job, so to speak. Until then, I’ll keep reminding you and you keep reminding me, “Help me, help us, stay awake to You!”
All the posts in the series will be added to this page each day of October. If you would like to receive these reminders in your email inbox, it’s easy! You can subscribe now by entering your email where it says “Jump into the Mess!” I am enjoying the journey together. Amy
Reminders: Love, satisfaction, extravagance, freedom, belonging, recreation, truth, trust, purity, submission and power, unity, kindness, blameless, with abandon acceptance, celebration, faith.
It is a hard thing. I often wake up with a near panic attack hovering just above me ready to take my mind to dreadful places. I am not a pessimist or an optimist, I consider myself a realist. And yet there is the pending anxiety that the sky is about to fall or here comes the other shoe. I like the way you described the “lucys” of the world. But bottom line, God is still God and he is still good! Let us stay awake and alert!
“What if you are “sitting on God” but the chair keeps getting pulled out from you? What if you thought you heard God but now your heart is broken, or you’ve been tricked or the cancer is still growing?”
Yup…that’s exactly what happened. But slowly, very slowly I learnt again that despite all my circumstances God is still good and I returned to having a mustard seed…
Yes, yes, yes! (And I’m thankful that it was slow. Sometimes things that come too fast can leave as fast too).