Devotional 12-21-222

Hebrews 11:1 NRSVUE -- “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”

“Faith,” she said. “We really just need to have faith.” I was talking with a friend, and she was asking me how I was doing, and I asked how she was doing -- because we’d both been through some recent medical concerns. “My attitude was crummy today,” I confessed. “First day back at work, I was bumping into doors and chairs with my scooter, so I was lashing out at inanimate objects.” After weeks on a knee scooter, my frustration level was over the top.
So she reminded me that we really just need to have faith. 

I suspect having faith is a tough thing for many of us, faith that things will get better; especially when we are going through tough things like medical issues, or financial concerns, when we’re mourning the loss of a loved one, when our social media feeds are filled with junk, or perhaps when we look around at a sanctuary that is no longer full of people. 

Or maybe even an expectant mother having faith that her baby is to be messenger of God.

Can you imagine how much faith that must have taken? An unwed teenage girl was to have a baby that would change the face of the world. How much faith did Mary need to have to believe that? 
The word “faith” is used over 500 times in the Bible. We are encouraged to have more faith, but what does that even mean? I’m not sure, but I wonder if it’s closely related to the word “trust.” Trust that things will get better, and have belief that if things aren’t to get better, you will have the strength to forge ahead. That might be faith.

I don’t know that I’ll ever have the same kind of faith in God, in people, in myself — that Mary had. But I’m going to try, by taking one little step of faith at a time. One little tiny step. Or in my case, one half step, combined with a short roll. 

Prayer. Dear God, We know that you are worthy of our faith and praise. We know that you hear our desires to be better people, and we ask for a stronger faith, a faith to help in our Advent journey of anticipation. We thank you for the season of Advent, and we have faith that the season of waiting will soon become the celebration of the birth of your son. Amen. 

Bruce Rous