A Stoic Faith

How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!” However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.  Romans 10:15-17 NASB

The time is now. Actually the “now” has been thousands of days and only God will bring His time gifted to an end and only God knows the moment He allotted for the return of Jesus.  It is of the utmost to accept by Faith Jesus as the risen saviour, it is of the most crucial steps we take that our steps lead us to the foot of the cross by our choice, it is paramount that we participate in the salvation story of our families,  our friends,  in fact God’s entire family! 

We live in a chaotic world full of people living chaotic lives. Many are out here living in desperation, yearning for some kind of escape from the mess we’ve  made of our lives. Jesus Christ is the way out of this decay. Chaos is defined as a state of disorder and confusion, even total disorder and confusion. It means to be in disarray, to be in turmoil. It means  life lacks order, peace and calm. Do you ever feel like your life is chaotic – that you yearn for order, peace and calm? I do. Please know that in all types of weather we face, in the tornado Jesus is the life raft, the anchor. 

Hebrews 12:28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe;

Faith that we are sheltered by God, always. 

Our neighbour Joe used to spend long days tending his garden.  When I asked one time about inclement weather we were in the midst of, he replied, ‘There is no such thing as bad weather, only inadequate clothing’. I think he made a very good point and it got me contemplating that there are some things in life we can do very little about - like the weather - and we often feel we’re in the middle of chaos. 

But when we are prepared, dressed for the situation, when we wear the shield of faith as taught in Ephesians 6:16 (besides all these, taking the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the flaming darts of the evil one.) when we are believing without seeing that Jesus Christ is the Saviour who died for mankind and rose again, we will see God’s kingdom come. 

We may want a neat, scripted life where everything goes smoothly and nicely, but experience teaches us that’s not the case. There are no guarantees that life will be serene and/or that every day will be smooth sailing. In fact our journey with Jesus here is the opposite of smooth sailing. The only thing we can control is Who we take our  circumstances to and our responses and reactions to the inevitable bumps in the road. 

Remember God is not the one bringing the chaos, noise, mess and confusion Satan is, 

1 Corinthians 14:33 NASB for God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.

When we feel confused and frightened, trust Holy Spirit as He reminds us God is in control of our lives and knows what’s going on, even if we don’t.

Having a quiet Faith is much more than checking something off our spiritual “to do” list. It is growing an intimate and personal relationship with God who created us. It’s a critical reason why we must take seriously a time set apart daily to read, study, meditate on the Scriptures and to pray with Holy Spirit for the wisdom and understanding God so freely offers in the Bible. We must trust that Jesus loves us and has chosen us to follow Him and become like Him.

Wow! Amazing grace!! Whether your greatest need this week is strength or faith – or maybe you’re desperate for both – whoamy friend, God has us covered.