Little faith will bring your soul to heaven; great faith will bring heaven to your soul.
~Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892)
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
~ paul, The Least of The Apostles, in Romans 12
Oh beloved, it is true. Each of us who know Him, have come into this relationship through faith. And any faith is enough. But, as true as it is that faith is absolutely necessary – faith is present in different measures for each of us. And these differing portions of the beautiful stuff, yield a different look and feel within the walk we each take down the path He has set before us.
Some of us have big faith. And while we didn’t generate this faith (it is from Him), we get to watch it work, often with amazement, at how it engages His work. We have been given a propensity to go for it when we sense He is telling us to do it. This fool of a writer has been flung to multiple countries over the past couple of decades following His lead and His actual verbal and written commands.
And in the flinging of me around the globe, there has come the planting of seeds, the growing of relationships, the bearing of fruit and all sorts of other good stuff. But mostly what comes from living in big faith, is the astounding wonder that overcomes us in watching G_d put together long strings of complex miracles to simply show His glory and Love for those doing the watching.
Even more though, comes the sense that this fool of a writer is even more foolish than he ever thought.
Recently, circumstances and prayer and political realities have driven me to the understanding that i must soon leave the Asian megacity He flung me into about two and a half years ago. And, even though He has never (read not ever) left me “hanging,” i sense myself getting uptight about the path He seems to be revealing to us to follow.
Without any real invitation (yet), we are to leave an enormous city, and go to the biggest one on earth. He has told me and my wife it is true, and others have sensed the same thing. Now, the signs – the little telltale icons – are beginning to show up, like breadcrumbs making a trail to the next location. Even so, after years of watching Him and His faithfulness, i begin to doubt. Natural right?
No.
Can we see it? This same G_d who will take our faith and fling us around the globe, has flung His arms around us so tightly, that He will never let go. And so, wherever we go, He is with us and in us and working through us. And since He is so close, His Spirit tells us of things to come and prompts us to take the correct turns. And further, even if we do take a wrong turn – He is there.
We have Him. And He is exceedingly, abundantly enough.
So, are you feeling the doubts creeping into your faith? Is your portion a different size than this writer’s? Don’t worry about the feelings of nervousness that come with the future. Just ignore them and sink into the arms He has wrapped around you. Tonight is your night beloved. Time to believe.
