Living by Faith
by John Schindler
How many times have you offered the gospel of salvation "by grace through faith...not by works" only to have the person respond, "That can’t be right, it’s too easy!"? It’s happened to me, and now I just chuckle inside whenever I think about those incidents, because I know that living by faith is actually the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to do.
Most of you know that in September, 1996 I was diagnosed with a terminal illness (Lou Gehrig’s disease, ALS). Words cannot describe the shock and disbelief when, having been healthy all my life and with no family history of this disease, I was told at age 42 "You’re going to die." The annual incidence of this disease is about 1 out of 100,000 and the prognosis is always fatal. It was the proverbial "bolt out of the blue." Of course, we all "know" we’re going to die someday; but we continue to think and act like it’s never going to happen, especially if we’re relatively young.
I would be lying if I said that my faith wasn’t severely challenged by all this, or that I turned it over to the Lord and forgot all about it. Being a Christian doesn’t mean we’re unaffected by sickness and death. Through this trial I have learned things that can’t be fully grasped by Bible study alone. The most important of these is living by faith.
Living by faith is simple to understand conceptually, but very difficult to put into practice because it runs contrary to every natural inclination. In the midst of trials with no solution in sight, with every authority telling you that you’re doomed, the hardest thing to do is to continue to depend on the invisible, the intangible, and the impossible. Emotionally, deep theological explanations are worthless at this point. I have struggled to understand, to analyze, even to anticipate what the Lord is doing. But if God does not allow me to see the outcome in advance, then what?
The answer is to "abide" in Christ. Abide is a word not ordinarily used in plain conversation and I remember over the years trying to figure out exactly what it means. Now I know. In everyday language, it means "to stay put," to remain right where I am. Or in other words, don’t walk away. If God allows me to see His plan before it completely unfolds, fine; but if not, I must continue to trust and fellowship with Christ, no matter what.
I think we all overestimate the quantity of our faith. I know I did. But I have been comforted by four thoughts:
1) I don’t have to have great faith. I need faith only the size of a mustard seed;
2) It’s not a sin to be in anguish over a trial. There is no greater example of faith than Jesus Christ, yet He sweat great drops of blood over the trial He was about to endure;
3) I can remember other seemingly impossible situations in the past that the Lord has resolved; and
4) I must "stay put" because in an impossible situation like mine, there is nowhere else to go.
I offer these thoughts in the hope that they may help, because I know that I am not the only one going through trials at this time. I thank everyone for their persistent prayer and ask that you continue to pray for healing because, in all honesty, that is my great desire.
John Schindler - 4/24/97