Faith is a Choice

We breathe uncertainty. Our air is tainted with it. The whole of humanity walks a tightrope with no net under it.

Uncertainty becomes anxiety becomes fear becomes anger. Has the planet ever experienced all of that to this degree?

Short answer? Yes. Every age has its own, although painted with different brush strokes, on different canvases, with different colors.

***

When I met Christ at age 14, it was euphoric. Was it that way for you?

The date was June 23, 1968.

I remember thinking that the sun was somehow warmer and brighter, the leaves on the trees winked at me as I strolled along the sidewalk, and the birds chirped especially for me.

It was a feeling unlike any I’d experienced before in my young life.

I noticed, though, as the years flew by, that the euphoria I’d felt as a brand-new follower had rusted a bit, waned, and almost disappeared. It’d wash back over me sometimes when I’d listen to a favorite song on the radio, or see one of my little ones bow and pray, or hear an especially rousing sermon.

But for the most part, the sun was just the sun and the leaves didn’t wink. And those birds? They were just noisy. Then, not too long ago, a truth smacked me in the face.

God knew I’d been struggling with faith, with trust.

What’s going to happen next? Who will I turn to if the unthinkable happens in my little corner of the world? Why can’t people just get along?

The truth that smacked me? Here it is: Faith is not a feeling that washes over me. It’s a choice, a deliberate decision. Believing God is an act of my will.

And, along with that, faith must have an object. The popular comeback, “You just gotta have faith…” doesn’t work by itself. Faith isn’t a standalone word—it only has meaning with an object, and God is the only Object that gives it meaning.

If I spend my time waiting for faith to wash over me in some kind of emotional ecstasy, like when I was a child, I’ll spend the rest of my sojourn on planet earth in uncertainty and fear.

When I do face that uncertainty and fear, I have a choice to make. Will I live there? Or will I choose to trust the God who holds the universe in His nail-scarred hands? When fear rears its ugly head, when I feel anxious and uncertain, I must stop. Take a breath. And say, “Here I am again, Father. Please hold this for me. It’s too heavy.”

• Will you join me in that decision?

Questions for Reflection:

1. What fear do you experience that puts you down—makes you panic and forget all about placing your faith in God?

2. Assignment: Develop a short prayer for each of those fear-filled times—a prayer of decision to hand it over to God one more time—and trust Him with it.