Colossians 4:2 “Continue steadfastly in
prayer, being watchful and thankful.”
Romans 12:12 “Rejoice in hope, be patient in
tribulation, be constant in prayer.”
What if we, as believers, had as much faith
in good times as we do in bad? When the trials of life hit, we tend to hold on for
dear life to our Savior and our faith in Him; at least this is true for me. I
get to a point of desperate faith as I call out to Jesus for His help, healing,
peace, comfort, and direction.
This past summer, my husband lost his job (this
was true for many people in the year 2020), and I was working a part time job
that did not pay much. We had some savings that we calculated would augment
unemployment for a certain amount of time. As the months wore on, we dove into
our Bibles and into prayer. We were putting our faith in God providing for us,
and we walked daily in a profound level of trust. The months passed, and although
my husband had many interviews that seemed like they were the answer, he was never
the final hire. This was difficult for him on so many levels, yet he kept
praying and trusting. After the first few months, we were astonished that we
had not yet touched our savings. Then a few more months passed and that number
stayed constant. We were able to pay every bill and still eat. The gratitude we
had (and still have) for God’s care was overwhelming, and we shared this miraculous
blessing with as many people as we could. We still are amazed by God’s
provision.
This was a time, like other times of hardship
in our lives, when we turned to God with focus and full faith. However, this
morning during our devotional time, we started talking about where our faith
has been during times of comfort. Are we walking in constant dedicated faith when
life is good? We both, sadly, answered no. Then we drilled down to the why, and
asked how we can change. My husband gave a wonderful analogy of a simple chair.
A chair that you sit upon daily that holds you and is reliable; you sit in with
unconscious faith. None of us sit down to dinner and pray for the chair that we
are about to sit on holds us up and protects us from falling. The reflexive trust
we have in that chair is because of reliability. Now, if we notice a crack in
the wood or a bent leg on that chair, we are more aware and thoughtful when we
sit, probably testing out its stability before sitting. It is only then that
our faith becomes evident and purposeful.
So we discussed how we keep our faith in
focus throughout our daily comings and goings, work and leisure, when we are
alone or with others. How do we grow in our intentionality towards God? How do
we grow our trust and faith in Him? Just like that reliable chair, we know His love,
mercy, protection, and grace are always there. We thought that being in a state
of deliberate and purposeful gratefulness when life is in a state of blessing
would help our focus on faith. Can we have the same desperate faith in times of
plenty, safety, health, and prosperity? Shouldn’t we, as often as we cry out
during trial, lift praises to our King when blessings flow? Why should we have
anything less than desperate faith always?
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