By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son… (Hebrews 11:17 ESV)
Faith is not the last resort
In my bedroom closet ‘medicine cabinet’ shelf, an asthma inhaler lurks. While in the past, I have carried an inhaler in my pocket, now it resides on that shelf, usually unnoticed, usually unremembered, and usually hidden by ever accumulating out-of-season clothes, other medicine containers, and clutter.
Because my inhaler, once so nearly-necessary, has thankfully become an emergency last resort.
Sometimes we treat faith like that inhaler. It seems we have so much understanding of our circumstances, that Faith is unnecessary, unless we are extremely unsettled.
Sometimes we treat Faith like that inhaler. That almost-irrational trust in an unseen God is hidden behind our clutter of past experiences, present scientific knowledge, and microscopic understanding of our realities, unless we are hit by a monstrous tragedy, loss, or emergency.
Sometimes we treat Faith like that inhaler. We are, perhaps for great reasons of Spiritual truth, so secure in our now rational trust in our wonderful and incomprehensible God, that we do not think about Faith, lean on Faith, ask for Faith, or even really want Faith.
Sometimes we treat Faith like that inhaler. It has been so long since we needed it, that we are not even sure exactly where it is. And we have let God’s enemies (our flesh, the world, and the dark side of the Spiritual realm) explain Faith as an immature, irrational, undesirable, silly thing that our Grandma used to use. So now we are not even attracted to Faith.
But Faith belongs in our pocket, not on the closet shelf. Faith, when clung to daily, can be a daily balm, an hourly comfort, and a moment-by-moment attachment to our God, through Jesus Christ.
Faith is not boring, irrelevant, unnecessary, foolish, silly, old-fashioned, weak, or the result of failure in the rest of our life. Faith is a source of strength when our confused minds can not see God. Faith is a source of peace, when our senses give us reason to fear. Faith is a solid place on which to stand, when the floods, quicksand, or lava flow around us.
Daily, yes… but particularly regarding our salvation. We come to Christ with Faith. We know the Father with Faith. We open our empty hearts to the Spirit with Faith.
Faith is not the last resort, Faith is the only resort.
Faith alone.