My family loves jeeps! We are part of jeep clubs, and we regularly go off-roading. Often, we will take the tops off the jeeps and just ride out, enjoying the weather. Before I purchased my current jeep, taking the top off the old one was quite an endeavor! It required tools, time, and brawn. I could not just pull it off; I needed help partly because it was so heavy. Because it was cumbersome, part of my daily task was ensuring that I picked the right day with dry weather, to drive a topless jeep.
Every morning, I would check multiple weather apps and news stations, hoping for a rain free day. My current jeep does not require all that work. The top simply slides back and forward with a push of the same button. The push of a button provided relief from the stress of figuring out the weather for a full day, finding someone to help lift the top off, finding storage for the top and then doing the reverse at the end of the day.
This July, we have been on a faith series journey. Hebrews 11:1 tells us that “faith is the “substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen.” Martin Luther King Jr. said, “faith is taking a step when you can’t see the stairwell.” Soren Kierkegaard said, “faith is the only instance where the particular is greater than the whole.”
But my favorite definition of faith comes from something my son said to me last week. While sitting in the new jeep, I noticed he was wearing sunglasses. I asked him why he needed sunglasses ‘in the jeep.’ He responded, “because when you open the top, the sun won’t get in my eyes.” The fact that he did not say – “if you open the top,” but he said, “when you open the top,” struck me! He had assurance, confidence, and a deeper understanding that, eventually, regardless of the current forecast that day, the sun would come out and when it did, I would open the top. So, he wore his sunglasses in preparation for what he knew I was going to do. That is faith!
That is what faith is – It is a confidence based on experience and a deeper understanding that God always leaves evidence. What God did before, God will do it again. We can trust in the evidence of blessings that God has already shown us. We can have faith that God is who God has always been. Consequently, just like my 10-year-old son…we can ride wearing sunglasses because we know, that top is coming off. Have faith, trust the evidence and the history of what God has already done in your life. Ride through life with your sunglasses, knowing that God is about pull the roof off every hurdle and limitation.
Dr. Ron Bell
