Tag Archives: facing suffering

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Deep Faith

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“They are fine. They have deep faith.”

My older brother spoke these words in response to my question, “How do you think Mom and Dad are doing?”

Ever since Garry said that, I have been asking myself a question –

Deep Faith – what is deep faith?

It is more than hope.

It is more than a reasoned sense.

It is knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that GOD IS FAITHFUL.

No matter what happens, no matter how I feel, God is faithful.

As my “tween” grandchildren would say – “God’s got this.”

My 91-year-old father has been in the hospital and we are waiting for results from a myriad of tests. In the mean time, we must have deep faith. No matter what the results, God is faithful.

God is faithful to my dad who is weak and doesn’t like being in bed, poked and prodded.

God is faithful to my mother who is watching her mate of 68 years struggle.

God is faithful to my brothers and me as we watch the rock of our family seeming to fade.

Deep faith is based on the immovable, unchangeable, irrefutable fact that God is faithful. God will fulfill His purposes and His word assures us it is for our good. God is love.

Shallow faith is subject to the circumstances around us. Just like a shallow rooted plant, shallow faith

  • dries up when it is not watered
  • it is easily uprooted and destroyed
  • it can wither from being crowded out
  • it’s existence is based on outside conditions

Hebrews 11:1-3 (NIV)

11 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.

3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

Deep faith.

The kind of faith that stands firm no matter the circumstances.

May we have this deep faith in our loving, heavenly Father.

 

 

 

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This is a Real Good Day!

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“This is a real fun day!”

Adella, our three-year old granddaughter says this often. We all love it.

It reflects a viewpoint we should all have more often. You see, Adella says this when –

  • she is eating a peanut butter sandwich, which she has many days for lunch.
  • she is playing outside with her brothers in the sandbox
  • she is riding in the car to church
  • she is helping Nana (me) set the table
  • she is celebrating her brother’s and Pop’s (Phil) birthday at the park

For Adella, this is a mindset….

….at least right now.

She is three after all.

But right now she enjoys almost everything.

I need to have that perspective.

I am reading the book Miracles by Eric Metaxas. Our son gave it to me for Christmas and I am in awe of God’s creation right now in a way I have never been before. My father has always instilled in me a wonder and appreciation for God’s creation. That is the subject matter for most of the art I create. I am so grateful for this legacy.

Mr. Metaxas has the insight and ability to communicate the wonder of our very existence on planet earth as I have never understood or felt it before. He uses scientific evidence to illustrate the unlikelihood of a planet being able to sustain life. Metaxas shows the mathematical improbability of all the conditions needed for life as we know it to exist on any planet  – and yet as improbable as it is – here we are!

On p. 54 Metaxas writes, “The slimness of our being here is so slim that it’s enough to leave us goggle-eyed with terror – until in the next moment we realize we are indeed here and explode with gratitude for our very existence.”

God is God.

It IS a real good day!

He says on p. 56 “It is something to which the most truly human response is the combination of terror and wonder, of ancient awe and childhood joy.”

Childhood joy. This should be our “go to” response to life.

This is a real fun day!

Of course there are terrible, hurtful, tragic days in each of our lives. These days are also part of our existence on this fallen planet.

God is God. Our hope lies in the fact of God’s faithfulness throughout our lives and into eternity.

Psalm 16:9-11

9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
10 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
nor will you let your faithful[b] one see decay.
11 You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

The realization of God’s sustaining power in the universe and in my life allows me say –

“This is a real fun day!”

 

 

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A Thankful Heart – Again, Yes, Again

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Turkeys in our front yard

Turkeys in our front yard

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. There are several reasons for this. I love the food that is traditional on Thanksgiving. I love getting together with family and friends and sharing food and fellowship. I also appreciate that Thanksgiving is about being something as opposed to giving and receiving.

Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful, and I am amazed and humbled when I think about all I have to be thankful for. Yet this year I can’t help but think of all those suffering around the world because of recent terrorist attacks.

How can we be thankful when so many are suffering?

Suffering is a part of our existance as human beings on this planet.

I believe God is present in suffering just as He is in times of blessing. We often associate thankfulness with circumstances, yet the Bible teaches that God is faithful in all things. Looking back on my life I have seen God’s faithfulness in the midst of times of suffering as well as when He blesses me.

It is not enough to be thankful, we must express our thankfulness to God. He alone is worthy of our gratitude for all that He has done, is doing, and will do to accomplish His will in our families and the world.

I recently read the book Defiant Joy, the Remarkable Life and Impact of G.K.Chesterton by Kevin Belmonte. The book recounts that during a period of utter despair, Chesterton “was filled with both an enormous sense of thankfulness, and an enormous need for someone or something to thank.” (p. 218) This insight caused Chesterton to embrace Christianity. He went on to become a critic and writer that greatly influenced the lives of C.S.Lewis among countless others. “The test of all happiness” he wrote, “is gratitude; and I felt grateful.” (p. 221) The defining quality of his life as described by his contemporaries was JOY. Thankfulness leads to joy.

Last week I saw the following in a store window – “It is not happy people who are thankful, it is thankful people who are happy”. How true!

Psalm 145: 3-5

3 Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; His greatness no one can fathom. 4 One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts. 5 They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty— and I will meditate on your wonderful works.

Here the Psalmist is saying that one generation must let the next know just how mighty, glorious, and splendid God is! As parents and grandparents this is a challenge and a great opportunity. As we share with our children just how faithful God has been and how much He has done for us as His children, it will remind us of His work in our lives and at the same time, bless our Heavenly Father as we give Him the glory.

As we are thankful this Thanksgiving, let us remember to pray for those thoughout the world who are suffering in loss and fear.

Pray they will experience God’s faithfulness and love in the midst of all they face.