Faith When It's Dark

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This is a message that was given as our congregation was reeling from the tragic deaths of an elderly couple in our church who perished in an automobile accident this past week.

Written Excerpts

Hebrews 11:1-3 ^(NKJV) Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

It might be easier to understand the last phrase of that verse if we say it like this, “The things which are visible were made from things that are invisible.”

Someone has said something like this, “Faith is not really faith until it has been tested in the dark.”

If it is the middle of the day, the sun is out and I can readily see all my surroundings, it is pretty easy to tell if I’m on the right road and if my path is obscured or open. But in the dark, it requires a lot more trust and faith to walk the path I’m on when I cannot see all my surroundings.

The same principle is true in our spiritual walk.

Some reminders about faith:

1. Faith is an unwavering conviction in the reality of the unseen.

v. 1  faith is (=) substance of things hoped for and the evidence of the unseen.

“substance” – the very essence of something; basic composition of a thing; or its reality.

“Evidence” – that by which something can be proved; normally a legal term.

The Hebrew writer is saying that faith is the inner conviction that the things which cannot be seen, because they are in the realm of thoughts and ideas, are real nonetheless.

For some people, it may seem like I’ve just described a fantasy, a dream or an imagination. But, it becomes true faith when it passes from the realm of fantasy and wild imagination into the realm of conviction; to the point of being willing to “stake my life on it.”

It has reached the point of a conviction that I am willing to stake my life on when it becomes the basis for choices and decisions that will affect my future well-being.

When the Bible tells us that God called Abraham and he left his kinfolk and his home to go to a place he didn’t physically know existed, Abraham’s faith became a conviction that caused him to make a life-changing decision. It caused him to make a decision that affected the entire course of his life and his descendants’ lives.

When the Bible tells us that we are spiritually lost and headed for hell without hope, and it tells us that Jesus Christ came for the purpose of dying in our place so we do not need to be lost, and it tells us that we can be saved and live eternally with God, those are all ideas or propositions that require belief or faith that will produce a response using a deliberate choice.

We choose to accept those propositions as more than wild imaginations and fantasy, but truths and realities. We make decisions throughout our lives that we have not only staked our futures on, but we have staked our eternal destiny upon as well.

2. If faith is linked to realities that we cannot see but we’re choosing to stake our whole life and eternal destiny on, then that same faith can sustain us when all the outward, visible things seem contrary.

In other words, “We’re in the dark.”

Faith is what enabled Job to say, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.”

We know that Job was confused and even angry about what all was happening to him and his family. We certainly know that Job was kept “in the dark” about how and why the things were happening the way they were. But in spite of all his doubts, questions, and anger, he still is remembered for saying: “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord.” And, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.”

Conclusion:

Someone has said, “The teacher is always silent during a test.”

When God seems silent, when it seems we’re walking in the dark, and when our world has caved in around us, let’s make a commitment to keep trusting in God. Amen?

Let’s sing the chorus listed in our bulletin, My Faith Still Holds