Day 129: Unwavering Faith

"But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind."  James 1:6

This is one of my all time favorite verses.  It taught me so much about faith when I first read it, and each time that I come across it, it bears the same weight on my life.

As Christians, we have to live our lives faithfully, and one of the ways to do that is to do everything out of faith.  We should be able to point all of our actions back to our faith in the one God.  Our love should come from our faith.  Our practice should come from our faith.  Our hospitality should come from our faith.  Our faith is the root to everything that we do.  If we do not have faith, we don't have anything.

Imagine if you asked a close friend or your partner to do something.  You ask simply because you expect/know that it will be done.  You have forged a relationship with this person because of the amount of trust that you have put into this person and because you know that there will be support coming from this person.

When I think about this, I immediately wonder why I would ever cast any doubt upon God.  I mean, why would I pray if I don't even have a reason to pray?  Why would I get all worked up, kneeling on the ground, reaching up with my hands, shouting before God if I am not expecting for my prayer to get answered?  That sounds like an awful lot of effort for something that doesn't matter.  Even worse, why would I place so much doubt upon the being who has guided me and saved me and transformed me in so many different ways?

God should have all of my trust.  I shouldn't have to wander away from time to time just out of curiosity or doubt.  That makes absolutely no sense.  If I do all of that, I become as a wave.  I cycle above and below the water, and I only live as long as I don't bump against a rock or any other body floating on the sea.  That's not a very good lifestyle for me to adopt.  Instead, I should be prepared to communicate with God.  More importantly, I should be prepared to encounter God, even when it might be a shock to me.

Communication with God is difficult because God is not like every other human being on the earth.  God is God.  Therefore, we need to prepare ourselves to talk to God.  It's not that God isn't going to listen, but it's that we are going to lose sense of God when we go unprepared.  There are some easier preparations, such as by attending church or reading the bible.  But the real test comes when you approach prayer.  Is your mind ready to speak to God?  Are your hands ready to reach for God's hands?  Are your ears ready to hear what God has to say?  It's only when we are prepared to communicate with God in faith that we will have a rewarding conversation.

Day 107: God's Gift

"If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?  Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"  Luke 11:11-13

This is one of my favorite passages from the bible because it explains the grace of God so well.

We know how to carry out transactions so well that it just becomes second nature to us.  Yet, that by itself is a display of courtesy towards our neighbors.  We are prone to give whatever anybody requests.  Now, that doesn't go without acknowledging that there can be an entirely different context surrounding these occasions.  We can give things over with an attitude.  We could even give things that are of poor quality.  But in general, we will give when we are asked.

Imagine being in a classroom and somebody asks for a pencil.  Unless it's during an important test or competition, there is always someone there to give over a pencil, even if it's short, chewed up, and without an eraser.  These are the kinds of things Jesus is referring us to.

Paul has taken many opportunities throughout his letters to explain what the Holy Spirit is.  It's kind of like a gift basket for us, with everything being useful (unlike a basket with a few things we could just do away with).  The Holy Spirit is something that guides us in our living.  It's a mode of communication from the Holy Trinity to us.  It's also something that drives us to pursue godly things in our lives.

So, if we can ask our friends and (occasionally) our enemies for things and receive what we'd asked for, how much better would be the things that come straight from God?  God, who is all loving, all caring, all forgiving, has shown us a gift.  We are receiving a gift that comes out of all things that are good in the universe.  The Holy Spirit is good.  God's gift is perfect.