Small Moment of Courage

[AmyJ]

Yesterday we made it to Sunday School. The teacher talked about faith and other key points in the lesson. At some point, she asked us to provide ideas for improving faith while she wrote them on the board. There was the usual litany of prayer, scripture study, church attendance. While she was actually writing on the chalkboard and it is not physically hurt, it felt like spiritual nails on a chalkboard to me.

I raised my hand and pointed out that in the case of Job – his faith was just to hold on even though his friends didn’t get it and he didn’t see a specific reason for what he felt that God had done. I reemphasized that sometimes for us, the best we can do is what Job did and hold on in the face of everything.

Nothing profound happened, but my husband squeezed my hand because he knew I was speaking from my heart in a concrete-rubber-hits-the-road setting, not a ivory-tower like academic mental exercise.

[Anonymous]

AmyJ wrote:

I raised my hand and pointed out that in the case of Job – his faith was just to hold on even though his friends didn’t get it and he didn’t see a specific reason for what he felt that God had done. I reemphasized that sometimes for us, the best we can do is what Job did and hold on in the face of everything.

I love this! Thanks for sharing.

I’d like to share something I heard recently about faith: “The opposite of faith is not doubt. It’s certainty. What need do the certain have for faith?” I’m happy to have heard this recently as our F&T meeting yesterday and some previous weeks speaker messages have been full of “I know’s” and “Lack of Faith = Doubt”. We were even blessed to receive a synopsis of the Corbridge talk. Again. :sick: :thumbdown:

[Anonymous]

Great comment.

Too often, we undervalue the endurance part of enduring to the end.

[Anonymous]

Don’t know how I missed this earlier. This is great if only because it’s not a canned “Primary answer.”

[Anonymous]

Quote:

I believe in the sun

even when it is not shining

And I believe in love,

even when there’s no one there.

And I believe in God,

even when he is silent.

I suppose it depends what we are talking about for “improving faith”. If we are referring to increasing loyalty and dependence on the institutional church as “improving faith” then our answers will be different.

[Author]

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