We, as followers of Christ, must have faith. The first and probably most commonly thought of faith application comes in the form of salvation faith. This is the faith that we have in Jesus as our Savior, Redeemer, Friend and Lord when we give control of our lives to him. It can be thought of as faith on a macro level.
The second form of faith is more on a micro level. This is the daily type of faith in which we trust that Jesus is with us right here and now and has gone before us, comes behind us and hems us in.
In reflecting on the past several months I have come to realize that I was stronger in the macro level of faith but pretty weak in the micro. This was especially true of the time when I was working for a big corporation, had a good salary and benefits and basically was quite comfortable. Except for the tugging on my heart that I was made for much more than that. That I was given a passion and skills which were not being used to their full potential.
Eight months ago I left the corporate world. It was pretty scary at the time to cut the ties that I thought sustained us. But I have come to realize more and more that, no matter how much control we think we have, God really has control. The difference between then and now is that I am much more aware of the micro level of faith and have seen God do some pretty amazing things to show us that he is in control. All we have to do is be obedient to him and his call to us.
I can think of some very tangible ways this has happened over the past few months. This is not all-inclusive by any means, but just the ones that stick out to me as I write. There was the time I went to pay our bill at JAARS for our housing only to find out that someone had anonymously paid our rent for us.
Then there was the day when it seemed God was saying we would depart in July, not January. We did not know where we would live or what we would do for six months. By the end of that day we had a home to live in, Rachel had her teaching job back, and I had a promising flight instruction schedule. Most importantly we had peace that God was in control and providing.
Then a few weeks ago my uncle, who is a carpenter, asked if I was doing anything and wanted to know if I could help him with a job he had. So I had work for two solid weeks during a really slow time for flight instruction.
This does not include all the times we have opened the mail and found a letter from someone wanting to support us or writing to us to say they were praying for us. Or the times we have had a gas card in the mail. Or a gift card. It seems like we have had a pretty big reminder on almost a weekly basis that God is taking care of us!
So many times it seems we have such small faith. But in reflecting on this, seeing how many times God has provided for even the smallest details in such obvious ways, it gives us a solid faith to continue on this journey. And to continue strong!
Hebrews 12:1-3 comes to mind. I love how Eugene Peterson puts it in The Message:
Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we'd better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!
The adrenaline is certainly running!
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