There
are times when our faith becomes flat and unimaginative. We lose our sense of childishness with
God. It is odd to consider just how wide
the age gap is between ourselves and the Lord and how little we know about
anything compared to Him. The silliness
of our complaints and the pretentiousness of our insights would be irritating
to Him if He were not God in every way.
Nothing speaks more of the grace
of our Lord's love than His response to the preening pride humanity brings to
the relationship. Like a child who
screams at his mom for not letting him play with the rattlesnake on the trail,
we convince ourselves we know more than the creator of the universe. Rather than happily playing in the front
yard, we sulk in the back because we have chores to do. Faith in God brings back the joy of our childhood. With wide-eyed enthusiasm, every experience
had a touch of heaven built in it. We
loved beetles and mud puddles and hikes to the "top of the mountain"
and puzzles and helping take out the trash.
Every step outside is an adventure; every trip to the store a
journey. Faith opens for us a freshness
to life; a laser sharp attention to all the joy that can be found in it. If we know that God will put our children
back together and open a way out of our financial distress and take us through
the loss that has devastated us, we can relax and look for the good God is
working out for us. Faith for Abraham
included all the dreams he had of playing with his son as he watched his
eighty-five year old barren wife start dinner.
Faith gave David as he fled from Saul's army time to day dream about the
party that would be thrown when he was crowned king. Faith brought a grin to Moses' face as he
contemplated the celebration that would occur when all of Israel crossed over
into the Promised Land. It is impossible
to taste the sweetness of the plum in my hand when I am fretting about the meal
for tomorrow. Faith, not success or even
healing is the gateway to joy. An entire
universe of happiness is available if you would believe God will take care of
you and guide you through the rough waters that have made your boat ride more
adventurous than you planned.
Open
the gates that the righteous nation may enter, the nation that keeps
faith. You will keep in perfect peace
him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord
forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal. Isaiah 26:2-4 NIV
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