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I was searching for a topic for this article and ideas were not coming, when the actual words, "Finding Faith" leaped up.
These can be very grievous times for finding our faith. It reminds us of the children's books, "Where's Waldo?" Each page is full of pictures of people or situations. Somewhere in this mix is an actual picture of a guy named Waldo. He can be easily found and other times extremely hard to find.
Sometimes today our faith can get bombarded, oppressed and distracted with all of the heaviness in the world with wars, conflicts, food shortages, the economy, pandemics, work, materialism, budgets, sin and pain. Our faith can become like a book, "Where's Faith?"
Even at this time of the holidays it can be difficult to find faith. We have allowed Thanksgiving to become a holiday that may have a basic feeling of thankfulness but no thankfulness to God as it was originally intended. Christmas, even Easter, can be celebrated without mentioning Jesus for whom these celebrations were created. New book: "Where's Jesus?"
But do not despair, there is hope. We can find our faith, live our faith and share our faith with others.
Finding Faith begins with finding Jesus by knowing God and His Word. We may fall into several different categories: no faith in God at all; had a faith but allowed other things such as loss, greed or people of this world to lessen our faith; "sitting on the fence faith" which flips back and forth like a seesaw; or a strong faith trusting and believing in God.
Christmas really begins with John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life." Christmas is the beginning of God's plan of salvation and the promise of hope in a life to come.
Finding faith starts by accepting God's love through Jesus and building on that faith each day.
A good verse to start with is Romans 10:9, "If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."
However, how do we keep our faith alive and strong? Life is not always a "bed of roses." Our faith can be stretched, tempted and weakened each day.
The Bible is a gift from God to us which is full of life situations and the faith of others which can guide us in our daily living. Habakkuk is an amazing example of Finding Faith. Yes, it is in the Old Testament near the end. It is only three chapters long.
Habakkuk (pronounced "HAB + UH + KUHK") is a minor prophet at the same time as the prophet Jeremiah. Amidst a time of violence and sinfulness, Habakkuk as a prophet spoke for God.
People were not always happy with the messages God gave Him to bring. Habakkuk is concerned because God has asked him to warn people that judgment is coming for their sins.
However, God is going to use the Babylonians to bring about this justice.
Habakkuk doubts this method because the Babylonians are more evil and more sinful than His people. Habakkuk struggles with understanding God, His choice and His plans. Where is the punishment for the Babylonians? They are not being held accountable. What is God thinking? Is He there? Does He care? Are you starting to identify with Habakkuk's situation and your faith with our world today?
As people of faith, we learn from Habakkuk, it is ok to respectfully question God.
The Psalms are full of David trying to understand God. But our end result is to believe God in His love and promises for us. God may seem silent or not there. But He is always with us. He is in control and He has a plan even when we do not see it or believe it."...the righteous live by faith," Habakkuk 2:4.
What is faith really? "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1.
Habakkuk has a choice: to follow his faith and fully trust God or walk away empty of faith. We have that same choice each day.
Habakkuk shares his choice to his dilemma in chapter 3. He prays! A beautiful prayer in which he remembers how amazing God and His love are. God is always there. Prayer is another gift God has given us for finding our faith. Habakkuk finds his faith and ends his prayer in 3:17-19, "Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food; though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on heights."
Habakkuk teaches us that faith is more than tradition and doctrine. It is also a personal and active belief in God; to praise and thank God even in hard difficult times. With the Holy Spirit, we can live by faith because God is faithful.
The challenge is to keep Jesus as the center of your Christmas while still keeping a true spirit of thankfulness to God no matter what. Do not get me wrong, I love many of the traditions of Christmas the same as anyone. However, our main focus should be praise and gratitude for the gift of Jesus Christ.
Christmas should strengthen our faith in God. My prayer for each of you this Christmas is that your faith in God is found, strengthened and renewed in Jesus.
"For we walk by faith, not by sight." 2 Corinthians 5:7.
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Finding Faith is written by area pastors. This week's column comes from Pastor Janis Heiser who pastors a Home Church online and in Lock Haven.