We walked on Irish Beach again today but without the blue sky of Wednesday. Fog was rolling in. Later we watched it cascading over the rooftop and into the surrounding trees. A very different day.
On the Beach we spent almost an hour walking on exposed rocks, looking at anemones, admiring the steep colorful hillsides, enjoying the sound of crashing waves. I ventured a little further, around a small bend, to see what I could find.
Halfway back to the car I turned around, the rocks we had just been on now obscured by a thickening fog. I would have been intimidated, hesitant to venture that way had we encountered the fog at first.
What's out there? Is the tide coming in and will I be trapped? (Been there, done that on Cannon Beach, Oregon many years ago. I did find it as humorous as did my family!) Obscured by the fog, I don't know if it's interesting, how far it goes, if it's a difficult climb or an easy one. The unseen is unclear because it's unknown.
Hebrews 11:1 tells us: "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." (NASB)
The life of faith is like walking toward a fog. Things do become clearer as we move forward but what if it goes nowhere? Been there, done that. I was convinced Plan A is what God wanted me to do but found out it was Plan B, something similar but different in specifics. Wasted time? Not at all, unless you consider walking by faith as a waste.
We look into the distance and can make out some shapes. We're not quite sure what they are, just that something is out there. But what? We move forward because of our confidence in Who we follow more than where we are going. That's where our faith is. The strongest faith in the world will do nothing if it's not faith in the right Person. It's the object of our faith, God, that makes faith strong, rather how strongly we believe.
Luke 17:6 "He replied, 'If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.'"
Faith trusts not in what is around the bend but in the God who has already been there,
laying out a path for us to follow.
Faith believes not in our own ability to conquer the mountains that lie ahead but we do
believe in the God who promises the mountains can be moved.
Faith sees the next step is clear only because our faith is in Him
Who has good things in mind for us, using everything in our lives
to shape us into the image of Jesus.
The numbers won't always add up. The steps won't always be seen. The way through won't always be known. We might doubt the ability of the people we need. We might lack confidence that the number of servants will actually step up to pull it off. We might even want things to stay the same and therefore stand back from the fog, content to live in the seen and the known. But faith moves us forward because we follow a God who calls us to partner with Him in the transformation of the world.
You don't know what a move to a new job, a new city will hold for your family, but if God seems to be nudging, moving, laying out a path, then follow it in faith. Trust in Him who has already been there before you.
My oldest daughter is pledging her life long devotion to a young man next week. They're entering into this marriage with their eyes clearly focused on each other and the Lord. That's good. But they have no idea what's around the bend. Confidence that the relationship is going to last is not in their ability to move through those times but in the God who has seen fit to bless their relationship. He's been there ahead of them. He knows. They don't have a clue. It's a walk of faith.
John 6:66-69 "As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. So Jesus said to the twelve, 'You do not want ot go away also, do you?' Simon Peter answered Him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God." (NASB)
Are you trusting in someone or something else other than the Lord? Your skills perhaps or your experience? Your tenacity for seeing things through? All of that and more can be used by God but don't put your faith in them.
What are you waiting for? What clarity have you been asking for while God has been inviting you forward into the unknown? What do your actions - or inaction - tell you about where your faith lies, in Whom you believe?
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