11032018 The Faith Kept

Dear Missionary Lady,

"I have kept the faith" (II Timothy 4:7). This third statement in Paul's testimony gets very personal and quite poignant. Probably every one of us has seen a friend, family member, or even a respected leader, who has walked away from the faith, quite possibly totally unexpected. There is a strong likelihood that it has happened in your ministry to someone in whom you have invested hours of training and prayer.

It is painful, disappointing, and disheartening to see such desertion from the faith. Perhaps it is saddest when the person has passed difficult tests already and has continued strong, but in the face of yet another test, he walks away. The Bible often addresses the danger of such a thing, and it should not be surprising. The battle of the Christian life is about faith, and there is no doubt that our faith is sorely tested at times. "That the trial of your faith, being more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire" (I Peter 1:7).

The Bible warns of the danger in walking away from the faith and gives strong encouragement to continue faithfully. "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God" (Hebrews 3:12). "Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck" (I Timothy 1:19). "If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the gospel" (Colossians 1:23). "Stand fast in the faith" (I Corinthians 16:13).

The temptation certainly exists. The epistle to the Hebrews was written because of the surging tendency among those Jewish believers to leave the faith, reverting to their previous traditions. When the Bible talks about the temptation to leave the faith, the basic answer is that there is no other answer. Faith may at times be a challenge, but there is nothing else as solid or as dependable. Faith in God is the only true solution.

The book of Hebrews continually shows those struggling believers the excellency of Christ and the vast superiority of Christianity over what they had known before. "Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised)" (Hebrews 10:23). Only God's way is the true way. "Testifying that this is the true grace of God wherein ye stand" (I Peter 5:12). There is no other answer. "Then said Jesus unto the twelve, 'Will ye also go away?' Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life" (John 6:67-68).

Can I get very personal? It's one thing to talk about some anonymous person departing from the faith, but we would be naive to think it could never happen to us. We would like to think that we would never come to a crisis point of intense struggle or a crossroads where we battle to decide if we will keep following God or not. I confess that I have been there. I thank God that His grace held me and that I never walked completely away from Him. What nearly happened instead was more of a coldness, a drawing away, reaching the point of merely going through the motions and staying on the fringes. I was disillusioned, feeling that I had served God so faithfully and that life had just been too difficult. I had given too much, and from here on out, I was no longer going to give. I was no longer going to be strongly invested. My heart wasn't in it. It was easier to keep going to church than to face the censure of others if I had stopped going, but there wasn't much motivation to want to go - or to read my Bible or pray. It was empty and meaningless. I had started a drift that if unchecked would have led to eventual desertion of genuine Christianity.

I don't know what your experience has been or will be, but I can tell you that it is possible to reach that position even while involved in ministry. We know how to go to through the motions. We can paste on that smile. We know what to say and how to act in public. We can even (by God's grace and the power of His Word) minister to others when we are dying inside with nothing to encourage ourselves. It is a miserable way to live, and it is an extremely challenging way to try to minister to others. No one else might know; certainly it is easy to hide the extent of our struggle. Others might suspect that something is bothering us but not have any idea of the depth of the emptiness in our souls.

I don't write this presuming that any of you are in this position nor suggesting that you ever will be, but I do know it is possible. So I just want to say, I understand. If now or in the future, you find yourself in such a place of struggle, I desire to share your burden, to pray for you especially, and to offer you a safe place to talk, a loving heart, and a compassionate ear. I know it's not easy to admit such a struggle, but it is also not easy to face that battle alone, and it can be dangerous to assume you can. So I just want to make myself available.

I close with these three practical helps for the struggle of faith. First, a struggling person needs lots of time in the Bible. "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17). Second, faith is a choice; it is deliberately telling God that one will believe Him no matter what seems to be true. "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1). Third, God will answer the heart cries of the one who seeks Him. "And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief" (Mark 9:24).

Do not give up the faith! It is worth it. If you are struggling - either with a major crossroads or with daily discouragement and doubts - please seek help. Fight for faith!

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt
member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA
www.pressingontohigherground.blogspot.com