This past month Cindy and I had the profound opportunity to get outside of our comfort zone and visit a small church in another state. What transpired was a mix of blessing and difficulty as the Lord challenged us to get outside of our little paradigm and consider the possibility that His ways are not only different from our own but far exceed them in every way. As I stood in the spare bedroom of a complete stranger, looking outside of their window into the dense physical and spiritual gloom of a place totally foreign to me, I was confronted with this verse:
"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."
(Hebrews 11:1).
[Some translations also read "faith is the substance of things hoped for" or " the confidence in what we hope for".]
Either way what the Holy Spirit conveyed to me in a nutshell in that moment was that I would never see what He was doing in my life or anywhere for that matter if I only looked with my eyes. I needed to trust Him regardless of what the situation or other people in my life were communicating to me in that moment. By speaking to me in this way he revealed two very important things to me: First this is what it really means to walk by faith and second, I was not doing it. I was not walking by faith, not really, not in the way that scripture exhorts me to. I was clinging to confirmations, to external financial provisions, to family, to friends, to my intellect and my understanding but not Christ, not the Holy Spirit and not the Father that led me this far. And I knew it. Deep down I knew it. And He knew it. And He led me all the way to another state to finally graciously and authoritatively call me on it.
You see I had always thought that I HAD lived my life by faith because I was willing to do what certain other believers professed to do but didn't have the courage to really follow through on. I thought that if I exhibited a little more faith than THEM that I was walking by faith in a way that is pleasing to the Lord. But I only deceived myself because that's not really walking by faith in the way that God calls us to, is it? He does not call us to judge and compare the faith of others and then act accordingly. No. He calls us to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in everything regardless of the circumstances. He calls us to set aside our own parameters and comfort zones, our personalities and experiences, to leave our judgment and understanding at the door and trust His naked word, and not just the cannon of scripture but also the voice of His Spirit in our inner being as He leads us according to that cannon of scripture.
You see it is not our place to set the parameters for walking by faith. That right belongs to God. It is our place to follow His leading, to rely on His word and depend on His power. We get the privilege to be led. He alone has the right to lead. So, why am I sharing all of this with you? Why be so transparent about about something so sensitive to so many? Well, first of all if I am honest it is because I believe the average American Christian (myself included) has inoculated itself with the idea that faith is somehow easy, that because we live in this comfortable little country of ours there are no real hardships or opportunities to step out of our comfort zones outside of evangelism. And that is false. The call to be a christian in this world is not a call to creature comfort or blessing (although there is no doubt that such grace is available). The call to be a christian is a call to be conformed to the image of Christ, to depend upon HIM the way HE depended upon His Father and the Holy Spirit in His humanity here on earth.
It is the call to live in both the visible world and the invisible, to experience the tangible and intangible realities that God in Christ has provided for us in the gospel. And up until this time I had failed to see that, at least in practice. I failed to see what it really means to WALK with God, to live by the principle of dependence on Him for everything. And standing in that (now) friend's spare bedroom I came to understand that there is no spiritual couch to wait upon in Christ. It is a call to walk by faith. We must put our feet in the darkness of uncertainty as He leads us and trust that He will light our way. We must speak when we are afraid if He commands us to. We must learn to forsake our reliance upon ourselves if we are to walk with Him, if we are to live by faith. And that is always for our benefit.
So friend, my exhortation to you now is this, do not forsake the leading of the Lord for something more comfortable or more tangible. Do not rely upon your own senses or sensibilities to guide you. Do not let the word of God in scripture become an excuse to dull your senses to the word of God in your ear by His Spirit. Learn to rest in the promise that He will never leave you or forsake you, that He has gone before you, overcome the world and prepared a place for you. I promise that you will never be disappointed if you do, no matter how difficult the road before you may be to do so.
Lord bless you for your faithfulness to our family. I know it has been a blessing to write you as I do. May the Lord encourage you, drain the dross of my message and fill you with His peace.
You are loved. And we are grateful for you!
-Chris and Cindy
Celebrating our 7 yr anniversary in Seattle
Daddy and his little ones!
Just got my port removed!! Celebrating 1 yr cancer free!!!!
Praises-
~ A fun 7th yr anniversary trip to Washington kid free!
~ Cindy's port-a-cath (what they used to administer chemo) removal was successful and is healing!
~ Celebrating 1 year cancer free for Cindy this Oct.
~ A diagnose for Noah which will provide other services we need to help our little boy.
Prayer Request:
-That God would continue to heal Cindy. She still struggles doing normal things like taking care of our kids. Pray that God provides helps for the days our nanny has to miss and the Lord would give her the rest she needs to heal.
-Pray for Noah who will start a special Ed preschool at the end of October. Pray we can prepare him for the transition of school everyday.
- Pray for the finances we need to purchase another computer. Ours crashed with the new Windows update. Pray that we would be able to get a new one that will last for the needs of our family.
-Pray for His leading and direction for the future of our family!
- Pray God would provide another place to live that is bigger and more affordable. Our landlord increased our rent and we are still struggling financially post cancer. Pray we would trust Him to provide all that we need.
- Pray for wisdom and guidance as we raise our family!
We love to see God answer prayer. Please share with us how we can be praying for you and your family!
