Walking by faith

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
~ 2 Corinthians 4:18
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I have grown to have an appreciation for times when I have struggled with my faith.  While not during the time of the struggle, but afterwards, when I realize that I have changed, or grown, because of the experience.  Growing in faith means that we have a new appreciation for, or understanding of, who God is to us in our life.  Taking a "leap of faith," means that we decide to go beyond the experience and trust that God will be there for us when we land.

Sometimes the leap, or for some, the crawl of faith, seems to be impossible.  Taking such steps with our faith requires us to walk with everything we have experienced.  These steps often include our joys, loves, hurts, and wounds.  

Claiming our journey can take us to places we could never have imagined.  Recognizing the One who is leading us, can have powerful results.  

Years ago while still a seminarian, one of the first patients I encountered in the ER was a forty-seven year old man who had a massive heart attack.  As the staff worked to save the man's life, the doctor stepped out of the room and asked me to go and talk to the family and to, "prepare them for the worst."

As I entered one of the family waiting rooms near the ER, I met the man's wife.  As I introduced myself she said, "If you've come in here to tell me that my husband is going to die, then you need to turn around and walk out of here.  You cannot box in my God."

I was shocked by her words, and I just remember praying with her and her family that God would perform a miracle for the man.  

The man eventually went to the ICU and underwent surgery.  For several weeks he remained on a ventilator with little to no response to treatment.  I then remember being paged to the patient's room nearly a month later, and was welcomed by the wife, with her husband, wide awake and was able to shake my hand.  "You're the one who has taught this chaplain about faith," she said.

I couldn't have agreed more.  

Leaps of faith, and moments of discernment, teach us so much about our faith and our relationship with God.  While it may not take a life-changing encounter to understand where our faith may lie, we are given the opportunity each day to "believe in things we cannot see."

Stay in God's grip!

G. Todd Williams (c) 2019