Faith is nothing unless it is put to action. Many people claim they have faith, but have never shown any signs of it. Words are easy to speak and prove very little. Faith requires more than just words, it requires trust. It's simple to say that we believe but acting on that belief is a whole different ballgame. It's easy to say that we trust God, but often those words are hollow because when we are put to the test, we lose our trust in God's sovereign abilities. Trusting in God requires that we find ourselves in powerless situations. If we have control, we can't fully trust in God. Being powerless is where authentic faith is built. We learn to trust God after we've been through situations where we are completely powerless and all that we can do is place our trust in Him.  Don't be fooled - trusting God is in no way passive. Faith isn't learned by going to church or memorizing Bible verses, though those are both important components. We can say all the right things, participate in all the right services,  memorize all the right scripture, but none of that matters if we don't trust God.

I heard a story once. I'm not sure if it is true, or if it is just a fable, but it makes a great point. The story is about a military Officer  who was on a boat with his wife. The boat encountered a terrible storm and repeatedly came close to capsizing. The husband remained calm. He retreated to the corner and knelt down to pray. The wife frantically approached him and asked him how he could be so tranquil when they were possibly facing their deaths. The husband drew his sword, put it up to his wife and asked "Are you afraid of this?" Without a moments hesitation the wife answered "Of course not" to which the husband responded "And why not?"  Again, instantly the wife answered, "because you have control of it and I trust you. You love me and would never hurt me."  The husband responded " I know the One who controls the wind and the waves, and He loves and cares for us."  Is our faith strong enough to believe God loves us and is in control, even when reality seems otherwise? I know that I thought I did, and about four years ago, the truth became apparent when my life seemed to unravel.  I lost everything that I found security in. I lost my job. I lost my girlfriend. And because up until that point my faith had been mainly head knowledge, I even started to lose it.


Faith is tough. Faith requires surrendering situations  that have uncertain outcomes to God, and that uncertainty is the perfect breeding ground for fear. Harry Emerson Fosdick describes the contrast between fear and faith, and they are as different as night and day: "Fear imprisons, faith liberates; fear paralyzes, faith empowers; fear disheartens, faith encourages; fear sickens, faith heals." As we exercise our faith muscles, we begin to  trust God just like the husband on the boat. The more that we yield control to God, the more we can see Him change the unchangeable and do the unfathomable and the less we will fear the unknown.

Because building a genuine faith involves losing complete control, most of us run away from truly trusting God. If what I say abut faith is true, that the only real way to build it is to be in a situation where we are powerless to change it, then it makes sense why we'd try our hardest to avoid really trusting in God. Once we begin the habit of yielding control over  to the God who holds the universe in His hands, we'll never want control of our lives again. The sad thing is, most of us will spend our lives trying to avoid God placing us in positions where we have to trust Him.

I've been focusing a lot on reading Hebrews 11 and getting to know the characteristics of faith described there. What I see are stories of people who acted in obedience to God, even when that obedience made little sense. What I read about are people whose faith was bigger than their questions. I want the kind of faith that amidst troubles doesn't just believe God is going to do something, but believes that He already is doing something. I want the kind of faith that knows God is always at work and that the answer to my prayer is already orchestrated. I want the kind of faith that knows that even when God is silent, He is still actively working things out. I want the kind of faith that trusts God's timing is always perfect and best. I want the kind of faith that trusts God knows right where I am at and exactly what I need. I want the kind of faith that even when it seems ludicrous to believe, trusts God. I want the kind of faith that genuinely believes God is all that I need.