Walking in Faith Can Be Hazardous to Your Comfort Zone

In Hebrews 11:1 we read the definition of faith as being, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Certainly this can be a hard pill to swallow for most of us – especially if we strive for guarantees in this life. Still when it comes to Christianity, God asks believers to trust His promises and work for His Kingdom despite the uncertainty.

For me, uncertainty came a few months ago when I made a decision to open a Christian school in Fenton – Living Faith Christian Academy. This is a venture that has no guarantees and lots of possible negative outcomes for me and my family including the potential for heavy financial burdens and emotional stress.

The starting of a Christian school may not seem risky to most; however, if you are aware of the situation in private Christian education in recent years in the St. Louis region, you understand the risks. Many schools – even those that have been open for decades and who are part of large Christian denominations with strong financial resources – have closed in the last five years in both the city and the county.

So it is against this backdrop that my family decided to enter this venture in spite of the risks. Why? I blame the prophet Isaiah for it mostly.

The book of Isaiah is found in the Old Testament and is a book of prophetic messages to the people of Israel during the time when kings ruled the Jewish nation. Very early on in the book (Chapter 6) we read about Isaiah’s calling to be a prophet of God.

Isaiah has a vision of God on His throne in the Jewish temple. Isaiah witnesses the beauty, majesty and holiness of God and suddenly his own imperfections weigh heavily on him in the presence of perfection. He cries out that surely he will die because he has just seen the Living God but at that moment, God forgives Isaiah his imperfections (sins) and then poses this question...

“Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”

Without hesitation, Isaiah responds...

“Here am I. Send me!”

With that statement, Isaiah begins a ministry counseling kings and proclaiming prophetic statements about the fall of the Jewish nation and its eventual restoration later. While some may believe being a prophet for God is a good gig, the reality is that almost all the prophets lived lives that produced many hardships and enemies. As you can imagine, kings don’t really respond well to being told they are wrong, which might explain why Isaiah meets his end by being stuffed in a tree and sawn in two.

Despite the hardships and challenges, the faithful still line up for the hard work and take on the trials that come with responding to God’s call. For me, God has proven to me time and again that He loves me and that I can trust Him. Through my own times of personal trials and struggles, He has provided me with what I need when I need it. My response to such amazing love is to trust His leading when He calls me to do work for His Kingdom – much to the dismay of my comfort zone.

Walking in faith is a process. Trust isn’t something that comes easy for us but the only way we build trust is by doing it which allows God to show us He is faithful and trustworthy.

"Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!" - Psalm 34:8

We also need to recognize that He is the authority on how our lives should be – not us. So learning to follow His lead in spite of the fact that we may not agree with it is another way we demonstrate our trust in something we can not see but know will be for the best.

Romans 8:28...And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

None of this is easy by the way and it doesn’t always get easier the more you do it. Sometimes, you are asked to trust even more then you thought you could and walk in faith a little longer before you see the end result. But as St. Augustine said...

"Faith is to believe what you do not see...the reward of this faith is to see what you believe."

So as the first day of school approaches, we press on despite the challenges having faith in the wisdom of God and His plan for our lives while leaning on His strength and mercy to get us through it all.