In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength. -Isaiah 30:15
Jesus Christ may be to us either crucified and buried or risen and ascendant, depending on the reach of our faith. This is what it means to believe. It is more than mere mental assent to a set of extraordinary doctrines; it is identifying with and actualizing the life of Christ in my mortal flesh. Immediately I take myself in hand and choose to praise, the Word becomes alive again.
"Faith is not pathetic sentiment." Too often our "praise" is pensive and spineless, when it ought to be joyfully and earnestly real. We are more than conquerors, and as such we ought to hold our heads high. "We Christians must not sit among unbelievers like melancholy owls." And this is the hard thing: in order to praise God in the midst of trial, one must admit that it is not that hard after all. Personal pride always insists on the hardness of things.
How often has our courage failed us when the storm is raging and the sea is high. "Oh ye of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" There's Jesus, rubbing his eyes and grinning. "You think this boat is gonna sink, man? Chill out and row! I'm God, ok? Geez."
***
Keep on comin' - these lines on the road
Keep me responsible, be it a light or heavy load
Keep me guessin' with these blessings in disguise
I'll walk with grace my feet and faith my eyes-Caedmon's Call, 40 Acres, "Faith My Eyes"
Image courtesy of interfacelift.com
No comments:
Post a Comment