Faith. Falling into the Hand of the Lord

In First Peter, regarding faith, we read: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you.” 1Peter 1.3-10

Every day we have opportunity to witness God’s work, His Word, His “doings” in our lives.  Opportunity, I say, because we can either acknowledge (and accept) or ignore (and disregard) His will, His work, His ways with us.  Opportunity abounds.   Distractions, false teachings (!!), self-will, sin, or ignorance keep us from seeing these opportunities, from yielding to the Truth — keep us from hearing His voice.   They also keep us from seeking the Truth.  And that’s probably one of the devil’s most superlative weapons: to distract from or to distort the Truth.

So distracted are we, that we look around for a better way, an easier way, a less painful way to live.  Falling into the Hand of the Lord seems hard sometimes, seems scary sometimes, seems foolish sometimes, seems ignorant sometimes, seems careless sometimes.  Strangely, falling into the hand of the Lord is at once all of these and none of these.  Falling into the Hand of the Lord is an act of faith… it’s an act of obedience, it’s an act of trust, it’s an act of hope, and it’s an act of love.  Falling into the Hand of the Lord is the safest, surest place to be.

When a lot of things around you (okay, maybe everything around you) seems like a mess, an absolute mess, what’s not true is that God’s forgotten you.  What’s not true is that He stopped caring about what’s happening to you.  What’s not true is that God has forsaken you and doesn’t have good plans for you.   But the devil doesn’t want you to know that.  He wants you to believe that your mess, your life, your stuff’s just beyond hope… that your mess is beyond redemption.  That’s a lie.

Faith… (Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith) is the assurance of things hoped for.
Faith… (Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith) is the evidence of things unseen.

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;
who for the joy that was set before him
[atonement and redemption]
endured the cross,
despising the shame, and is set down
at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12.2