13 I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the lord in the land of the living! 14Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! (Psalm 27:13-14)
Faith takes courage. To believe something as utterly ridiculous as Christ and the Bible takes an incredible amount of steel in your vertebrae. To view the current state of this world and hold fast to the idea that eventually, the goodness of the Lord will prevail and does so in spurts today, is a sort of holy bravery or spiritual stupidity depending on the hour. Perhaps this is why the Psalmist ties in courage and strength with this idea of waiting on the Lord.
In the military there is a saying. “Hurry up and wait.” It brilliantly sums up a career in service and faith. While there are some incredible encounters of life and death, there also is a lot of waiting. There is certainly a rush to life but also a mundane posture of the everyday. Faith is the belief of promise; to believe no matter the score, good will eventually triumph if not in this world, then the next. This is brave belief. It is not simply standing still but actively pursuing and trusting the Lord will move.
I must confess, this is difficult for me. My faith is perceived to be greater than it truly is. As a pastor, I have the verbiage down. I know how to talk the talk but when it comes to the quiet recesses of my soul, I am lacking. Maybe it is simply the state of this modern life. We are all fairly comfortable enough and in this comfort we simply do not need a god. What steps are we taking toward the fringes of life and turmoil? Are we settling for an easy belief over a reckless faith?
Today, take courage. Put your faith in the ridiculous and actively wait on the Lord.
Father, may our faith be brave. Move it to the deeper ends of reason and courage. Show us your ways.
Matt simon blog 