"I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD."
(Psalm 27:13-14)
Confidence is an important characteristic of faith. Of course, biblical definitions of faith don't always exude confidence, at least not in the way the world around us defines confidence. Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Hope is not always a verifiable commodity, and your bank would probably not grant a loan based on what they could not see of your credit history. And yet, the confidence of faith is based not on the seen, but the unseen...so much so that when Jesus confronted the doubting Thomas after resurrection, he said,“Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
The Psalmist did not speak in the afterglow of resurrection, but he had known the hand of God at work in his life and believed he could trust in God. The twenty-seventh Psalm culminates, again, with an approach not usually employed to breed confidence. "Wait," the Psalmist says. "...be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD." Twenty-first century confidence says, "Don't just stand there...do something!" The confidence of faith says, "Don't just do something...stand there....wait...wait on the Lord" This confidence calls one not to inertia, but to a dependence beyond self...a dependence on God that, in God's time, empowers action and direction.
Luke gives illustration of Jesus' confidence in the context of faith as he moves toward crucifixion and beyond, saying that he "resolutely set out for Jerusalem." The confidence of faith empowered Jesus' walk to the cross. The confidence of faith can also empower our Lenten journey to the cross.
Prayer: May our confidence grow as we walk with you, O Lord. Amen.
Jim Abernathy
No comments:
Post a Comment