Let’s talk about faith.

I know what you’re thinking, “don’t we always talk about faith?”

Well, sort of. But, I want to talk about actually having it. You know, trusting in the unseen. I’ve always been inclined to believe that having faith is quite difficult. Trusting in something you don’t see ain’t always easy.

A few days ago I went to the ER for a rather weird reason. I woke up (as usual) in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, when I realized I couldn’t hear from my left ear. Ever since spending some time traveling, my ear had started to accumulate some junk and would get clogged every so often. When that would happen, I usually would just pop my ears how you would underwater or on an airplane, and I would be fine—except this time, it didn’t work. A few hours later, and the hearing from my left ear was still completely gone. And well, I naturally started freaking out. After a few failed attempts to regain my hearing, I decided to get myself to the urgent care. Once I finally got to see a nurse, I explained my problem. He immediately asked if I had recently been traveling.

“YES,” I responded.

I then received the affirmation explaining how my ear was jam-packed with travel-junk and ear-wax. Talking about travel-junk naturally led to talking about my recent adventures, where I got the junk in the first place (dusty roads, sand dunes, hiking through the forest, sleeping in tents, etc.) The adventure talk soon led to talking about life, and all the depth that comes with it, namely, faith.

“You know, I used to be an atheist,” he said.

To which I responded quite ignorantly, “I guess that’s easier.” Being an atheist—not believing in anything, that is.

And then Mr. Nurse responded with something that’s really got me thinking lately: “No, it was actually a lot harder.”

As you’re reading this right now, you’re probably sitting on something—a chair, a bed, anything. Before taking a seat on whatever you’re sitting on, you woke up this morning, used the restroom, walked to the kitchen—opened cabinets, used appliances, turned on the water, picked up your phone, maybe took a shower or walked outside and took a breath of fresh air.

What did it take for you to do all these things? Well, faith.

Just like the faith I had that without a doubt, going to the ER would solve my ear problem better than I could on my own.

Take a car, for example. Most of you have ridden in one. Most of you ride in one every day. You stick the key in the ignition, not really knowing how every part works…just knowing there’s an engine and gas and somehow, someone engineered it to all work together perfectly. You weren’t there when they did it, nor do you take your car apart to see how it works before climbing in…you just trust that it will. Every day when getting into that car you have…faith.

Or how about the chair you’re sitting on? Did you think much about it when you sat down? Probably not. You just had faith that it would…hold you.

Or last night when you went to bed, did you wonder if the sun would rise in the morning? Did you wonder what scientific phenomena occurs every morning to make the sun come up at the exact pressure, speed, moment, that would have it rise perfectly without being too late or too early, too close to Earth or too far—consequently burning or freezing us up? Probably not. You just, well, trusted it would rise perfectly and rise beautifully.

You see, we exercise faith every stinkin’ moment of our lives. I mean, I’m having faith that this computer is working together with me to get this post online so that you can read it. I don’t think I’ll EVER know how wi-fi works, but it’s a pretty sweet (I would argue, miraculous) deal.

Contrary to popular belief, faith is quite natural.

So what is it that gets in the way of us having faith in God? It’s so natural to have faith in everything else, why do we struggle in trusting the Author of faith? Well, my friends, I believe it’s pride, moreover, rebellion—lack of surrender. It’s like deciding that you have the strength and the power to make it to work or school on your feet instead of in your car. “Who needs that machine, anyways? I got it. I can do it.”

Imagine if we lived our lives refusing to surrender to the things we don’t understand. “I’m not going to use the wi’fi, I don’t get it, anyways.” –Hello. Nothing would get done.

It’s that same kind of rebellion that Adam had when he decided to not trust God in the Garden. “Oh, you say that eating that fruit will lead to death? Nah, I don’t believe you. I got it. I will do it my way.” It’s that rebellion, which we all possess today, that led to disobedience—making this whole world a pretty sickening place to live in at times. It’s that rebellion that sent Jesus to the cross, paying the price for our pride, our disobedience. It’s that rebellion that had Him die a death He didn’t deserve. And it’s that very rebellion that separates us from experiencing His peace, His love, His beauty, and His joy on a daily basis.

Imagine what life would look like if we stopped rebelling, and started trusting and surrendering to God...the way we trust and surrender to everything else. Just imagine the kind of freedom, confidence, and anxiety-free life we would experience—the kind of life He desires for us.

That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you.

Why do you have so little faith? So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. Matthew 6:25-34

What’s stopping you from trusting today, friends?