Photo by Rachel Pfuetzner on Unsplash
In our last post, we identified a ‘different’ kind of faith. I guess a natural follow up to that would be exploring what that kind of faith looks like. Quite apart from our everyday run-of-the-mill faith, what does faith in God look like?
The book of Psalms is chock-full of many heartfelt expressions of lament and joy, each one a tangible expression of its writer’s faith. One of such is Psalm 130, a song of Ascents, i.e., one of those sung by pilgrims on their way up to Jerusalem. Whilst it by no means offers an exhaustive list of dos (and perhaps implicitly, don’ts), it does offer a framework that is broad enough to spur us on to an active lifestyle of faith.
Looking in the right place
Simba, in the movie The Lion King, face to face alone with his father, Mufasa’s lifeless body lets out a gut-wrenching cry for help: “Help!! Somebody… Anybody… help!” he soon realised disappointedly, with tears trickling down his little face, that there was no help in sight.
Not so the Psalmist, whose cry wasn’t an aimless shot fired into the dark, rather, a well-targeted cry out of the depths to God who really is there. Surely the ears of the Lord are as attentive to the prayers of His children as to the psalmist’s cry. What great comfort then for us to be assured that our prayers, cries, and even sighs don’t go unheard.
Thinking rightly
In recalling the goodness and faithfulness of God from of old, the psalmist brings to light the character and identity of the One who is indeed trustworthy. The Christian faith gives us so much to think about and meditate on, particularly in the midst of trying circumstances.
Rightly so does author, J.I Packer admonish in his book, Knowing God;
“Think of what you know of God… and apply it. Think against your feelings; argue yourself out of the gloom they have spread; unmask the unbelief they have nourished; take yourself in hand, talk to yourself, make yourself look up from your problems to the God of the gospel; let evangelical thinking correct emotional thinking.”
Without doubt, pondering great truths about God helps keep our fears and troubles in perspective.
Patiently waiting
The kind of waiting the Psalmist models is one of patience in hope and confidence in God to do what is best. This involves actively tuning out the surrounding noise and chatter for the greater goal of laying hold of God’s promises.
Far from the notion of a gateway to a plain sailing experience of life, we see faith in the trenches – desperately crying out, thinking and waiting patiently for the Lord. In much similar fashion, there is a sense in which the summary of our walk by faith is ‘crying out’, ‘thinking’, ‘waiting’, ‘acting’… Repeat. Even so, we wait by hoping in God’s Word.
Thanks for reading!
Sike Osinuga