Faith is Like {Falling on Pillows}
You know how they say, “Don’t pray for patience”? Apparently it is also a bad idea to blog about faith, because the last couple of weeks have stretched me to my absolute limits. But that is a story for another time…
Anyways, I have the gift of faith. I’m telling you that up front because it’s frustrating when someone who is gifted in an area acts like it’s so easy and that everyone should be able to do it like they can.
And I can’t take credit for it any more than someone who has been gifted with height or athleticism can take credit for their genetics. Faith is easy for me and always has been. I struggle in other areas. Discipline, for example. (Will I ever get my crap together?…The world may never know.)
That being said, faith isn’t just something that you either have or don’t have, and it is something that can be shared, or cultivated. So I want to share some with you.
I was blessed to have grown up in a church and missionary community where I got to meet and hear stories of men and women of amazing faith…hearing stories of miraculous works of God from the mouths of those who witnessed the miracles themselves.
As a child, I also distinctly remember seething with anger at adults in my life (in my church) who tried to rationalize and/or downplay God’s ability to control space, time or matter (which He created in the first place, but that is a whole conversation in itself).
Faith is contagious. So is doubt and fear. Which is why it is really important to be around people of faith. Faith needs community. (Do you have someone that speaks faith and truth to you?)
The problem is that in order to trust God, you have to know Him. And if you’re not reading His Word (especially the “Old Testament” #IWillDieOnThisHill) and talking to other people who know Him, you’re going to have a really hard time trusting Him.
Particularly if other people who have claimed to represent God or should have been there for you have let you down or hurt you.
And in this time where things still aren’t quite back to “normal” and people are disconnected from faith communities, faith can start to falter. And faith gets really weak when it’s only fed once a week or even less.
Side note: Please, for the love of all that is holy (and I mean that quite literally), be a part of a faith community that preaches the WORD OF GOD and doesn’t just teach moral lessons. If passages of scripture are not taught IN CONTEXT, it is very doubtful that your faith will grow (unless you are also getting into the Word on your own, of course).
So this is for the ones who are losing hope.
For the ones that are starting to think that it’s not going to happen after all, that you must have misheard God, or that he changed his mind.
For the ones who are suffering in silence, who are isolated, and those who are bombarded with fears.
For those who can’t take another thing, who are asking “WHY!?” and are past their breaking point.
If I raise my eyes to the hills,
from where will my help come?
My help comes from Adonai,
the maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip —
your guardian is not asleep.
No, the guardian of Isra’el
never slumbers or sleeps.Adonai is your guardian; at your right hand
Adonai provides you with shade — the sun can’t strike you during the day
or even the moon at night.Adonai will guard you against all harm;
Psalm 121 CJB
he will guard your life.
Adonai will guard your coming and going
from now on and forever.
Faith can be such an abstract concept, so here are some of the lessons in faith I’ve learned as I’ve gotten to know God more and more, and some of my very favorite passages of scripture that I go back to over and over (in no particular order):
> Faith is going God’s way, NOT trying to get God to make things go your way.
I know that you can do everything, that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
Job 42:2 CJB
Oh, how I wish their hearts would stay like this always, that they would fear me and obey all my mitzvot [commands]; so that it would go well with them and their children forever.
Deuteronomy 5:26 (29) CJB
> Faith is being totally convinced that God is who He says He is, and He can AND will do what He says He will do.
Adonai, you have been our dwelling place in every generation. Before the mountains were born, before you had formed the earth and the world, from eternity past to eternity future you are God.
Psalm 90:1-2 CJB
Avraham is our father in God’s sight because he trusted God as the one who gives life to the dead and calls nonexistent things into existence. For he was past hope, yet in hope he trusted that he would indeed become a father to many nations, in keeping with what he had been told, “So many will your seed be.” His trust did not waver when he considered his own body — which was as good as dead, since he was about a hundred years old — or when he considered that Sarah’s womb was dead too. He did not by lack of trust decide against God’s promises. On the contrary, by trust he was given power as he gave glory to God, for he was fully convinced that what God had promised he could also accomplish. This is why it was credited to his account as righteousness.
Romans 4:17b-22 CJB
> Faith is believing that what God wants for you is something that will actually satisfy you.
In other words, do not let yourselves be conformed to the standards of the ‘olam hazeh [this world]. Instead, keep letting yourselves be transformed by the renewing of your minds; so that you will know what God wants and will agree that what he wants is good, satisfying and able to succeed.
Romans 12:2 CJB
>Faith is also saying “no” to fear in the face of an insurmountable obstacle, overwhelming opposition or what seems like inevitable defeat.
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we are unafraid, even if the earth gives way, even if the mountains tumble into the depths of the sea, even if its waters rage and foam, and mountains shake at its turbulence.
Psalm 46:1-3 CJB
N’vukhadnetzar said to them, “Shadrakh! Meishakh! ‘Aved-N’go! Is it true that you neither serve my gods nor worship the gold statue I set up? All right, then. If you are prepared, when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, harp, zither, lute, bagpipe and the rest of the musical instruments, to fall down and worship the gold statue, very well. But if you won’t worship, you will immediately be thrown into a blazing hot furnace – and what god will save you from my power then?” Shadrakh, Meishakh and ‘Aved-N’go answered the king, “Your question doesn’t require an answer from us. Your majesty, if our God, whom we serve, is able to save us, he will save us from the blazing hot furnace and from your power. But even if he doesn’t, we want you to know, your majesty, that we will neither serve your gods nor worship the gold statue which you have set up.” N’vukhadnetzar became so utterly enraged that his face was distorted with anger against Shadrakh, Meishakh and ‘Aved-N’go. He ordered the furnace made seven times hotter than usual. Then he ordered some of the strongest men in his army to tie up Shadrakh, Meishakh and ‘Aved-N’go and throw them into the blazing hot furnace. So these men were tied up in their cloaks, tunics, robes and other clothes, and thrown into the blazing hot furnace. The king’s order was so urgent and the furnace so overheated that the men carrying Shadrakh, Meishakh and ‘Aved-N’go were burned to death by the flames. These three men, Shadrakh, Meishakh and ‘Aved-N’go, fell, bound, into the blazing hot furnace. Suddenly N’vukhadnetzar sprang to his feet. Alarmed, he asked his advisers, “Didn’t we throw three men, bound, into the flames?”They answered the king, “Yes, of course, your majesty.” But he exclaimed, “Look! I see four men, not tied up, walking around there in the flames, unhurt; and the fourth looks like one of the gods!” N’vukhadnetzar approached the opening of the blazing hot furnace and said, “Shadrakh! Meishakh! ‘Aved-N’go! You servants of El ‘Elyon! Come out, and come here!” Shadrakh, Meishakh and ‘Aved-N’go emerged from the flames. The viceroys, prefects, governors and royal advisers who were there saw that the fire had had no power on the bodies of these men – not even their hair was singed, their clothes looked the same, and they didn’t smell of fire.
Daniel 3:14-27 CJB
>Faith is going against everyone else’s opinions or advice when you’ve heard God’s voice clearly telling you to do something difficult or counter-intuitive.
Listen, Isra’el! You are to cross the Yarden today, to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, great cities fortified up to the sky; a people great and tall, the ‘Anakim, whom you know about and of whom you have heard it said, ‘Who can stand before the descendants of ‘Anak?’ Therefore understand today that Adonai your God will himself cross ahead of you as a devouring fire; he will destroy them and bring them down before you. Thus will you drive them out and cause them to perish quickly, as Adonai has said to you.
Deuteronomy 9:1-3 CJB
>Faith is withholding judgement or emotional response to news, rumors or facts until you’ve sought God’s Truth concerning the situation:
Hezekiah was faced with an invading army that had already desolated kingdoms larger than Judah. When the Assyrian king sent a letter taunting Hezekiah with his impending doom, this is how he responded:
Hizkiyahu took the letter from the messengers’ hands and read it. Then Hizkiyahu went up to the house of Adonai and spread it out before Adonai. This is the prayer that Hizkiyahu prayed to Adonai: “Adonai-Tzva’ot [Lord of Heaven’s Armies], God of Isra’el, who dwells above the k’ruvim [cherubim]! You alone are God of all the kingdoms on earth. You made heaven and earth. Turn your ear, Adonai, and hear! Open your eyes, Adonai, and see! Hear all the words that Sancheriv sent to taunt the living God. It is true that the kings of Ashur have laid waste all the countries and their lands and have thrown their gods into the fire. For those were non-gods, merely the products of people’s hands, wood and stone; this is why they could destroy them. Now therefore, Adonai our God, save us from his power — so that all the kingdoms on earth will know that you are Adonai — you only.”
Isaiah 37:14-20 CJB
And God did (for the second time against this same king, read chapter 36-37 for the whole story), in a way that only God could:
Then the angel of Adonai went out and struck down 185,000 men in the camp of Ashur. Early the next morning, there they were, all of them, corpses — dead. So Sancheriv king of Ashur left, went and returned to live in Ninveh.
Isaiah 37:36-37 CJB
>Faith is relying on and/or waiting for God to come through for you instead of trying to do it all on your own or trying to figure it out by yourself.
Yet Adonai is just waiting to show you favor,
Isaiah 30:18 CJB
he will have pity on you from on high;
for Adonai is a God of justice;
happy are all who wait for him!
But soon they forgot his deeds and wouldn’t wait for his counsel.
Psalm 106:13 CJB
Now, Adonai, what am I waiting for? You are my only hope.
Psalm 39:8 CJB
>Faith is also waiting on God’s timing, even when it feels like it will be “too late.”
We are waiting for ADONAI; he is our help and shield.
For in him our hearts rejoice, because we trust in his holy name.
May your mercy, ADONAI, be over us, because we put our hope in you.
Psalm 30:20-22 CJB
Trust in ADONAI, and do good; settle in the land, and feed on faithfulness. Then you will delight yourself in ADONAI, and he will give you your heart’s desire.
Commit your way to ADONAI; trust in him, and he will act. He will make your vindication shine forth like light, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
Be still before ADONAI; wait patiently till he comes.
Psalm 37:3-7 CJB
ADONAI directs a person’s steps, and he delights in his way. He may stumble, but he won’t fall headlong, for ADONAI holds him by the hand. I have been young; now I am old; yet not once have I seen the righteous abandoned or his descendants begging for bread. All day long he is generous and lends, and his descendants are blessed. If you turn from evil and do good, you will live safely forever.
Psalm 37:23-27 CJB
Adonai is good to those waiting for him,
Lamentations 3:25-26 CJB
to those who are seeking him out.
It is good to wait patiently
for the saving help of Adonai.
Y’hoshafat was told, “A huge army from beyond the [Dead] Sea, from Aram, is on its way to fight you; right now they are in Hatzatzon-Tamar” (that is, ‘Ein-Gedi). Y’hoshafat was frightened, so he determined to seek ADONAI. He proclaimed a fast throughout all Y’hudah, and Y’hudah assembled to seek help from ADONAI; they came from all the cities of Y’hudah to seek ADONAI.
[Y’hoshafat] said: “ADONAI, God of our ancestors, you alone are God in heaven. You rule all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and strength, so that no one can withstand you.
Our God! Won’t you execute judgment against them? For we haven’t strength enough to defeat this huge horde coming against us, and we don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”
Then, in the middle of the assembly, the Spirit of ADONAI came upon Yachzi’el the son of Z’kharyahu, the son of B’nayah, the son of Ye’i’el, the son of Matanyah the Levi, from the descendants of Asaf. He said, “Listen, all Y’hudah, you who live in Yerushalayim and King Y’hoshafat: here is what ADONAI is saying to you: ‘Don’t be afraid or distressed by this great horde; for the battle is not yours, but God’s. Tomorrow, go down against them. They will be coming up by the ascent of Tzitz, and you will find them at the end of the vadi, before the Yeru’el Desert. You won’t even need to fight this battle! Just take your positions, Y’hudah and Yerushalayim, stand still, and watch how ADONAI will deliver you! Don’t be afraid or distressed; tomorrow, go out against them; for ADONAI is with you.'”
2 Chronicles 20: 2-4, 6, 12, 14-17 CJB
>Faith is being full of conviction that God knows better than you.
“Where were you when I founded the earth?
Job 38:4 CJB
Tell me, if you know so much.”
“Therefore you are to be careful to do as Adonai your God has ordered you; you are not to deviate either to the right or the left. You are to follow the entire way which Adonai your God has ordered you; so that you will live, things will go well with you, and you will live long in the land you are about to possess.
Deuteronomy 5:32-33 CJB
>Faith is taking your hurts, your pain, your suffering, your frustration, your disappointment, your despair, your weariness to God and hiding yourself in Him.
Help me, Adonai, my God!
Psalm 109:26-27
Save me, in keeping with your grace;
so that they will know that this comes from your hand,
that you, Adonai, have done it.
Hear my cry, God;
listen to my prayer.
From the end of the earth, with fainting heart,
I call out to you.
Set me down on a rock
far above where I am now.For you have been a refuge for me,
Psalm 61:1-4 CJB
a tower of strength in the face of the foe.
I will live in your tent forever
and find refuge in the shelter of your wings.
In deep depression she prayed to Adonai and cried.
1 Samuel 1:10 CJB
>Faith is knowing that God sees you and even if he doesn’t change your situation to be how you think it should be, He is with you and won’t leave you to go through it alone:
“But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it will be evident that such overwhelming power comes from God and not from us.
We have all kinds of troubles, but we are not crushed; we are perplexed, yet not in despair; persecuted, yet not abandoned; knocked down, yet not destroyed.”
2 Corinthians 4:7-9 CJB
My soul, why are you so downcast?
Psalm 42: 5-8 CJB
Why are you groaning inside me?
Hope in God, since I will praise him again
for the salvation that comes from his presence.
My God, when I feel so downcast,
I remind myself of you
from the land of Yarden, from the peaks of Hermon,
from the hill Mizar.
Deep is calling to deep
at the thunder of your waterfalls;
all your surging rapids and waves
are sweeping over me.
By day Adonai commands his grace,
and at night his song is with me
as a prayer to the God of my life.
>Faith is believing that even though you can’t see a change right now, or the situation seems totally hopeless, God is working for your good.
Remember my utter misery […] They are always on my mind; this is why I am so depressed. But in my mind I keep returning to something, something that gives me hope – that the grace of ADONAI is not exhausted, that his compassion has not ended. [On the contrary,] they are new every morning! How great your faithfulness! “ADONAI is all I have,” I say; “therefore I will put my hope in him. ADONAI is good to those waiting for him, to those who are seeking him out. It is good to wait patiently for the saving help of ADONAI.
Lamentations 3:21-26 CJB
>Faith is like falling on pillows. You have still fallen, but your fall has been cushioned. You still may end up in a pit or a fire, but the lions don’t eat you, and the fire doesn’t burn you.
So the king gave the order, and they brought Dani’el and threw him into the lion pit. The king said to Dani’el, “Your God, whom you are always serving, will save you.”
Early in the morning, the king got up and hurried to the lion pit. On approaching the pit where Dani’el was, the king cried in a pained voice to Dani’el, “Dani’el, servant of the living God! Has your God, whom you are always serving, been able to save you from the lions?” Then Dani’el answered the king, “May the king live forever! My God sent his angel to shut the lions’ mouths, so they haven’t hurt me. This is because before him I was found innocent; and also I have done no harm to you, your majesty.” The king was overjoyed and ordered Dani’el taken up from the pit. So Dani’el was taken up from the pit, and he was found to be completely unharmed, because he had trusted in his God.
Daniel 6:16, 19-23 CJB
But now this is what Adonai says,
Isaiah 43:1-7 CJB
he who created you, Ya‘akov,
he who formed you, Isra’el:
“Don’t be afraid, for I have redeemed you;
I am calling you by your name; you are mine.
When you pass through water, I will be with you;
when you pass through rivers, they will not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire, you will not be scorched —
the flame will not burn you.
For I am Adonai, your God,
the Holy One of Isra’el, your Savior —
I have given Egypt as your ransom,
Ethiopia and S’va for you.
Because I regard you as valued and honored,
and because I love you.
For you I will give people,
nations in exchange for your life.
Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
I will bring your descendants from the east,
and I will gather you from the west;
I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
and to the south, ‘Don’t hold them back!
Bring my sons from far away,
and my daughters from the ends of the earth,
everyone who bears my name,
whom I created for my glory —
I formed him, yes, I made him.’
>Faith says, “It is taking way longer than I expected or wanted, but I know that what God has for me is worth the wait.”
Then ADONAI answered me; he said, “Write down the vision clearly on tablets, so that even a runner can read it. For the vision is meant for its appointed time; it speaks of the end, and it does not lie. It may take a while, but wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay.
Habakkuk 2:2-3 CJB
>Faith understands that we live in a fallen world and though we will experience pain and struggles until we cross over into eternity, God is enough for us and will redeem every sorrow.
When Iyov [Job] prayed for his friends, Adonai restored his fortunes; Adonai gave Iyov [Job] twice as much as he had had before.
Job 42:10
So let us not grow weary of doing what is good; for if we don’t give up, we will in due time reap the harvest.
Galatians 6:9
>Faith is opening up your Bible even when you don’t feel anything or it feels like God has abandoned you.
Am I God only when near,” asks ADONAI, “and not when far away? Can anyone hide in a place so secret that I won’t see him?” asks ADONAI. ADONAI says, “Do I not fill heaven and earth?
Jeremiah 23:23-24 CJB
>Faith is knowing that what we see is not all there is. It’s understanding that while we get caught up in short term problems, God is playing the long game.
Trusting is being confident of what we hope for, convinced about things we do not see. It was for this that Scripture attested the merit of the people of old. By trusting, we understand that the universe was created through a spoken word of God, so that what is seen did not come into being out of existing phenomena.
By trusting, Avraham obeyed, after being called to go out to a place which God would give him as a possession; indeed, he went out without knowing where he was going. By trusting, he lived as a temporary resident in the Land of the promise, as if it were not his, staying in tents with Yitz’chak and Ya’akov, who were to receive what was promised along with him. For he was looking forward to the city with permanent foundations, of which the architect and builder is God.
Hebrews 11:1-3 & 8-10 CJB
>Faith is praying first because you know that prayer is more effective than planning…or worrying.
When you call to me and pray to me, I will listen to you.
Jeremiah 29:12 CJB
I love that Adonai heard
my voice when I prayed;
because he turned his ear to me,
I will call on him as long as I live.The cords of death were all around me,
Sh’ol’s constrictions held me fast;
I was finding only distress and anguish.
But I called on the name of Adonai:
“Please, Adonai! Save me!”Adonai is merciful and righteous;
yes, our God is compassionate.
Adonai preserves the thoughtless;
when I was brought low, he saved me.
My soul, return to your rest!
For Adonai has been generous toward you.
Yes, you have rescued me from death,
my eyes from tears and my feet from falling.
I will go on walking in the presence of Adonai
in the lands of the living.
I will keep on trusting even when I say,
“I am utterly miserable,”
even when, in my panic, I declare,
“Everything human is deceptive.”How can I repay Adonai
Psalm 116:1-13 CJB
for all his generous dealings with me?
I will raise the cup of salvation
and call on the name of Adonai.
>Faith knows that although the situation seems desperate, God can change everything in an instant and the “odds” have no effect on God’s ability to win the battle.
For not by their own swords
Psalm 44:3 CJB
did they conquer the land,
nor did their own arm
give them victory;
rather, it was your right hand,
your arm and the light of your face;
because you favored them.
The P’lishtim [Philistines] came up again and deployed in the Refa’im Valley. When David consulted ADONAI, he said, “Don’t attack! Circle behind them, and engage them opposite the balsam trees. When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, advance; because then ADONAI has gone out ahead of you to defeat the army of the P’lishtim.” David did exactly as ADONAI had ordered him to do and pursued his attack on the P’lishtim from Geva all the way to Gezer.
2 Samuel 5: 22-25 CJB
>Faith is opening your mouth in worship when you don’t feel like you have anything to be thankful for, because worship is a weapon that cuts through negative thoughts and anxiety, changes our hearts, and changes outcomes.
After consulting with the people, he appointed those who would sing to Adonai and praise the splendor of his holiness as they went out ahead of the army, saying, “Give thanks to Adonai, for his grace continues forever.” Then, during the time when they were singing and praising, Adonai brought a surprise attack against the people of ‘Amon, Mo’av and Mount Se‘ir who had come to fight Y’hudah; and they were defeated.
2 Chronicles 20:21-22 CJB
[See my “prayer songs” playlist here. I’m always up for suggestions for more songs to add.]
>Faith is tithing before you know you’re going to have enough because you know that God can and will provide for you.
Bring the whole tenth into the storehouse,
Malachi 3:10 CJB
so that there will be food in my house,
and put me to the test,”
says Adonai-Tzva’ot.
“See if I won’t open for you
the floodgates of heaven
and pour out for you a blessing
far beyond your needs.
>Faith is knowing that even if you can’t change the way you feel, God can change your heart or emotions in an instant if you ask and allow him to, whether it’s worrying or anxious thoughts or unforgiveness or just a bad mood.
But the grace he gives is greater, which is why it says, “God opposes the arrogant, but to the humble he gives grace.” Therefore, submit to God. Moreover, take a stand against the Adversary, and he will flee from you. Come close to God and he will come close to you.
James 4:6-8a
I will lie down and sleep in peace; for, ADONAI, you alone make me live securely.
Psalm 4:8 CJB
A psalm of David: ADONAI is my shepherd; I lack nothing. He has me lie down in grassy pastures, he leads me by quiet water, he restores my inner person. He guides me in right paths for the sake of his own name. Even if I pass through death-dark ravines, I will fear no disaster; for you are with me; your rod and staff reassure me. You prepare a table for me, even as my enemies watch; you anoint my head with oil from an overflowing cup. Goodness and grace will pursue me every day of my life; and I will live in the house of ADONAI for years and years to come.
Psalm 23 CJB
>Faith is opening your Bible when you have a problem or a concern and looking for answers in His Word.
See, the Word of God is alive! It is at work and is sharper than any double-edged sword — it cuts right through to where soul meets spirit and joints meet marrow, and it is quick to judge the inner reflections and attitudes of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12 CJB
Yes, keep this book of the Torah on your lips, and meditate on it day and night, so that you will take care to act according to everything written in it. Then your undertakings will prosper, and you will succeed.
Joshua 1:8 CJB
The Torah of Adonai is perfect, restoring the inner person. The instruction of Adonai is sure, making wise the thoughtless.
Psalm 19:8 CJB
Those who love your Torah have great peace; nothing makes them stumble.
Psalm 119:165 CJB
I pray that faith rises in your heart and fear is vanquished as you look to the one who saves.
There is no one like our God.