Everyone has faith in something. Believing in something we cannot understand or explain is part of being human. Those who live in God’s shadow have faith in God even though we have never seen Him. Atheists place their faith in their belief that God does not exist even though it is impossible to prove that belief. Some people put their faith in the idea that there are absolutely no absolutes and place their faith in that belief. Wherever we are in life, we find that we believe in something. It is this step of believing that is the starting point for our actions.
When we believe to the point we act, we express our faith to those around us. If you are someone who has placed their faith in the idea there are no absolutes, you will not make any absolute statements. Those who live in God’s shadow will allow their faith to cause them to move even closer to God. No matter our beliefs, we all place our faith somewhere each day.
We seldom recognize that we are exercising faith. Yet we demonstrate our beliefs in many areas each day. We believe that the clothes we are wearing will not dissolve in the rain. We express certainty that the bridges we cross will not collapse. We believe that our understanding of every situation is complete and justifies our opinion of the matter. These are all areas where we exercise faith each day.
Inexplicably, we struggle to have faith in God. We are not alone. Even the disciples had trouble expressing belief while they were in daily contact with Jesus. The disciples had seen Jesus perform many miracles, yet at times they failed to exercise faith. Luke 8:22-25 tells of when the disciples and Jesus were in a severe storm on a lake, and their boat was filling with water. Jesus was sleeping during the storm. The disciples woke Him to help them out. Possibly they expected Him to help bail the water out of the boat. Instead, Jesus commanded the wind and seas to be calm. Then Jesus asked the disciples, “Where is your faith?” (Luke 8:25 NRSV) I noticed that He did not ask if they had faith. He wanted to know where their faith was.
Like the disciples, we often fail to understand the power we draw on when we exercise faith in God. We may ask for grace and wisdom to deal with a difficult co-worker and then hold out a teaspoon to contain what we expect to receive. We doubt the Almighty because we lack faith. I wonder what God thinks as He holds back His ocean of mercy and wisdom to fill our faithless teaspoon-sized request? How much more abundant would God’s response be if we exercised enough faith to ask Him to supply everything we need to deal with the person?
A lack of faith is often to blame for a failure to obey. Exodus 16 tells us about when God sent bread, called manna, to the hungry Israelites. He specifically instructed them to only gather enough for one day except that they were to collect quantities sufficient for two days on the sixth day of each week. Scripture tells us that if they gathered more than what they needed on days one through five that the manna would stink and be full of maggots. It was different on day six. On that day, they were to gather two days worth because the seventh day was a day of rest; therefore, they needed to have food stored for that day. Those who did not gather two days worth of manna on the sixth day of each week went hungry on the seventh day. They had to have faith that God would provide a fresh supply each morning and keep their stored supplies from rotting on the seventh day.
I try to follow the day of rest that is proscribed in this passage and in the Ten Commandments. It is difficult to stop and rest sometimes. There are so many things that need doing, so much to be planned and scheduled. Yet I find that when I exercise faith in God and obey His command to rest both physically and mentally, I am reinvigorated physically, mentally, and spiritually.
The Apostle James writes about the interconnectedness of faith and action. He wrote, “So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.” (James 2:17 NRSV) He then presents further arguments showing that it is impossible to have faith if actions are not attached. The Apostle James uses the example of Abraham obeying God because of Abraham’s faith in God, even when he was unsure of the final cost of obedience. (You can read all of the Apostle James’ arguments about faith producing action in James 2:14-26.)
When I was a child, I found out that my friends did not always know what they claimed to know. They did not always have the permission they claimed to have. This behavior caused me to hold back and let others go first. If they did it and avoided injury and reprimand, then I might join in what they were doing. The fact that they had not been truthful on every occasion prevented me from having faith in everything they said. Fortunately for us, God will not lie to us. It is contrary to His nature. We do not have to worry about being misled by God when we exercise faith in Him. We can allow our belief in Him to cause us to take action.
Living in God’s shadow requires faith. This faith produces the action of causing us to move closer to God continually. It is not surprising that the Psalmist wrote, “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” (Psalm 91:1-2 NIV) May you allow God to grow your faith as you pursue a life in His shadow.
