Crunch Time Cometh ...

"Well folks, it all comes own to this.  The home-stretch..  Will the runners survive the last few gruelling miles to the finish line?  Tune in next week to see whether Faith will keep it's lead and take home the medal or whether Doubt will overtake Faith in an epic comeback to steal the spotlight and the glory..."

It's not always easy being on a Journey of Faith.  It's not always easy putting on a smile and being "Christian" when you feel like your being stretched half-way to the moon and back and could be dashed to bits against the rocks of reality at any moment.  I wonder about the Heroes of our faith, did they ever doubt?  Did they ever lose hope?  Did they ever question themselves or their ability to stand firm in the face of their challenges?  Sometimes, as I ponder the place the Lord has put us in, I wonder.. Is everything going to work out in the end?  I look down the road and wonder..  are we going to fall flat on our faces or are we going to run the race set before us.  It's easy to say we believe God is faithful, and that He did everything that is recorded in the scriptures.  But actually letting Him put us in a place where we need Him to be faithful and we need Him to do miracles for us, that is something different altogether.

Sometimes I feel very weak and brittle, ready to break at any moment.  I often feel like I'm walking the tight rope of Faith, balancing precariously, swaying this way and that, never falling but without sure footing.  I'm not superhuman.  I don't have all the answers.  I am not more holy or superior because I have been on a Journey of Faith.  Sometimes I think I must be the least of all the saints in the kingdom as I'm trying to muster up enough faith to move the mountains in my life.

The truth I must confess is that I have a mental understanding of the faithfulness and power and love of God for us in Christ.  But experientially, where the rubber hits the road, I'm still trying to work out all the kinks and get the information from my head to my heart.  Faith isn't faith unless it's tested.  When God asked Abraham to sacrifice His son Isaac He knew Abe would do it, so why did Abraham have to prove it by actually climbing the mountain, building the altar and strapping Isaac in.  I believe Abraham had to actually physically walk out His faith before God and prove His heart of radical obedience by sacrificing His son.  It wasn't enough for God to peer into Abe's heart and see the potential for faith and to see that if asked he would be obedient.  No, Abe had to live it out and it wasn't always easy.

That's where I'm at.  OK, God..  I'll do it if you want me to but wouldn't that guy over there be a better choice..  Oh, you really want me to do it..  Really.. ok I guess so.. umm, geez I sure hope this works out..

The reality, our reality, is that we are walking out a call that requires a lot of faith and a lot of miracles and all we need to do is scrape up a mustard seed of faith and put our game-faces on and He will take care of the rest.  Easier said than done right.  Well I've got my helmet on, and I'm strapped in and ready to go.  Rain or shine, good or bad, win or lose, live or die..  We will serve the Lord.  We will prove God is faithful and that His word can be trusted.  Even if it is painful and uncomfortable, even if it's scary and seems insane.  Even if people point their fingers at us, laugh at us, doubt us and throw stones.  It's not about me anyway, it's about Him thank-God, cause frankly.. He has much more awesomeness than I do.

Thanks for Journeying with us,
The Schafers