Building our Houses of Faith

What happens when you doubt, struggle, or lose some faith along the way? Is it a sign that what you have known before is no longer right or true when a piece of your “faith puzzle” doesn’t seem to fit anywhere in the picture yet? No, it isn’t.

When Christ taught His disciples about His eventual suffering, death, and resurrection, they often responded with confusion and fear. Some even chose to not walk with Him anymore because they did not understand what He taught. (John 2:19-22, 6:66)

As I read these accounts, there is a whisper in my heart that says, “Don’t leave Him.” If and when we stumble with painful questions and doubts on our individual journeys of faith, realize that the struggle is part of discipleship. That it is part of this life. What was it that allowed those disciples to witness first hand the miracle of Christ’s resurrection? The fact that they didn’t leave Him. They stayed to learn more, ask their questions, see the miracles, and yes, to continue to struggle with their own faith. But they stayed and walked with Christ.

Waiting upon the Lord for a complete understanding is part of being His disciple. We must learn to walk by faith, knowing that one day we will see with our eyes, hear with our ears, and understand with our hearts the absolute truths of eternity. But for now, “we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7).

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I was recently talking with a friend that related an experience to me that she went through over the course of four years. She and her husband experienced a “crumbling of their house of faith and testimony”. They made a decision that instead of leaving all the rubble behind, they needed to clear away the debris and start fresh, beginning again with the basics. They asked a lot of questions. Does God exist? Does He love His children? Does He have a plan for me? Has He truly called prophets throughout time to be His mouthpiece? etc.

As they found confirmation to one answer, they moved on to the next. In her process of rebuilding, she decided for one year to say yes to every opportunity to serve she could. It changed her. She was asked to do some hard things. But as she chose to serve, she realized she could do much more than she previously believed she could.  It grew her faith by serving as Christ would serve.

Sometimes pieces of information or experiences don’t seem to make sense or fit comfortably into our house yet. But we keep working and engaging in the wrestle. Inviting the Lord into the daily labor of rebuilding that which feels lost and broken. Don’t settle for a pile of rubble– questions that feel overwhelming and painful. Don’t walk away from something that brings safety, protection, power, and ultimate peace into your life.  Trust that God our Heavenly Father, Christ, and the Holy Spirit know all things.  They are with us on our journeys of faith.

 

I love this quote by C.S. Lewis, thinking of it within the context of our faith.

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of – throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.” (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity)

We are being molded into what God sees we can become.  It can be painful!  But trust that the maker of our souls is at work and that we will one day be able to see the bigger picture.  Just don’t give up!

 

Have you ever struggled in your faith? How have you received strength to keep going and “not leave Him”?

 

photo by Luke Stackpoole on Unsplash