Faith Can Be Tough

OPENING PRAYER. . .Loving God, Creator of all that is, here I am--today in this place that you have given me, with all the senses you have given me. Help me to use them to experience you on a deeper level. May I experience you all around me, open me to know more of your ways and know that your goodness surrounds me. Thank you for this time to be with you and to just listen. Amen

LISTEN:  "God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law." Romans 3:26-28

CONSIDER:  Faith can be tough. It can't be seen and it can't be held in one's hand. Faith can be hard to find when times are tough, yet, when times are good, it seems to be like an endless fountain. Sometimes we even think that our faith is something we can manage or do better. But Paul reminds us that faith is not a work, it's not something that we do--it just IS.  Can you do anything to get it?  Well, not really! And yet, it does require some seeking to find it.

SO WHAT:  Most of us suspect that having faith is a good and helpful thing. . . to our health--mentally, physically and spiritually.  One definition of faith is that "it is the clinging to a belief in spite of all the evidence to the contrary."

Faith is not by our wills, but about God's will. When we feel our faith, it is God's will we feel. God's will is always there. Sometimes, too much stress and events of life try to hide the fact of God's presence in our lives. But taking a few deep breaths and a few minutes to remind ourselves of the truth that God is always present, can lower our anxiety and calm our nerves.

• Are there times that you remember clearly having faith?
• What about times when you have struggled to have faith?
• Take a few minutes and feel the presence of God.

PRAYER: Loving and gracious God, your will be done. May your will embrace me, surround me, uplift me, carry me and mold me into the sacred image of Jesus. Amen