We tend to overreact based on what man’s prediction is. How easily we forget that there is a God in Heaven, ready to provide us our smallest needs if ever we ask, and yet we continue to worry. When we don’t receive the answers to questions we’re riddled with, the tendency we have is to question whether or not God really exists. In some circumstances, even after receiving the answer, we still aren’t happy with the manner in which it was received. Isn’t humanity fickle? We are a spoiled generation, used to immediate gratification for paltry pleasures that must be acquired at the very moment they are desired. God desires to break that bad little habit by allowing us to develop another habit, dependence.

The origin of worry starts within each one of us. When we as God’s children forget our Redeemer, the panic sets us off and the frenzy begins. We start questioning decisions we made, we start questioning each other, and above all we start questioning the One who has been our true north since we first drew breath.

In the Bible we find several instances where worry is openly spoken against. Psalm 37:8 says “Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; do not fret – it only causes harm.” In retrospect, many of us would agree that, yes, worry does more harm than good. As humans, there is only so much we can do before the rest is found in supernatural territory. “And which of you by worrying can add one bit to his stature? If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?” (Luke 12:25-26) While there is much that we cannot control, God has detailed within His word several things that we can do to ensure success in our relationship with Him. The rest He will be more than willing to do if we so choose to follow through on our end. What’s said in 1 Peter 5:6, 7 illustrates this concept beautifully: “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you.”

The evil one uses worry as a tool to bog us down with thoughts that would otherwise have been occupied with God’s love. Our inability to see past a certain point is a bond that sin has placed upon us, but it is also because of this bond that we must so heavily rely upon our Savior. That, in and of itself, is the biggest blessing. Imagine an existence where all that we needed to accomplish would have to be done our own. The close shaves we were once grateful to escape, are, now in reality occurrences that might very well ensue without any protection. Imagine an existence where God’s hand was withdrawn from our lives. What kind of grief and pain would we have to endure? It’s a blessing to be able to depend upon a mighty, merciful and wondrous God without fear of tomorrow.

God loves us with such a powerful and incomprehensible love, that He was willing to allow His own Son to be brutally murdered so as to compensate for the sins of the entire world – past, present and future. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6, 7)

If we have no need to fear eternal death, what other consequence is there worth worrying about? Nothing else compares to the debt that has already been paid. Our salvation has been personally gift-wrapped and hand-delivered. So yeah, about that tough life….no worries…

                The issue of belief/faith/trust always is and will always be a foundation of Christianity – as it is put so succinctly in 1 John 5:20, “…For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.” Our love for this same God is based upon our belief in Him, our trust in Him and our faith in Him. In the same breath however, it is this very belief in what we cannot see, and this love for what we cannot touch that binds us together, a rather interesting dichotomy.

                Many people would call this outrageous, and from an outsider’s perspective it may well seem like it. On the inside though, the perception is far different. For example, rather than give in to the many trials that assail us from all sides, we choose to count it as joy.  What is it that makes us so giddy about our faith in God? On the other hand, what ISN’T there to be giddy about?

                In 1 John, we find many different treasures; we find the apostle speaking on the light of truth and how acknowledgement of that truth prevents us from being taken in by antichrists. We also find how this light shines within and without the children of God, proving them to be true followers of the King. Taking it even further, we find that the fruit it bears is exactly that which Jesus Christ’s sole motivation was upon this earth – love. Not love for ourselves, but ultimately love for God and in turn, love for our fellow man. Going even deeper, this light helps us test that which is and is not of Christ. It is the light of truth, the light of God.

                With this light, we understand and accept Christ, because with this light, we see. We see not with our eyes, but with our minds and our hearts. In full recognition of the Sovereign Power we serve, we can do nothing but stand in awe of His perfect will. There is absolutely nothing and absolutely no one that can take the place of the Lamb.

His existence is more than we can experience, much less comprehend. Sometimes we feel that because He is so infinitely expansive, there is no need for us to communicate with such a being. Yet, He took our form so that we might understand Him and when we should have risen to meet Him, He came down to meet us.  That is Light.

The Desire of Ages has the most powerful relation of the story of Christ’s last moments upon this earth. When reading it, I found that Christ’s love was never more fully revealed than in His most excruciatingly painful moments. He took upon Him the sin of the world for no other reason than to save us from ourselves. His love was so perfect and so complete that words are futile when trying to express the depth of the love He feels for us.

If you really think about it, the whole reason He even created us was because He loved us even before we existed. He knew us from within and without before He even formed us. He knew what He would have to do before He even spoke this world into being. Conversely, once upon this earth as a man, He didn’t have one clue about whether or not He would make it out of this ordeal with any semblance of success. Once the Ruler of Heaven, he was subjected to treatment that not even the vilest criminal experienced. He became that which He abhorred so much just so that we would have a CHANCE to be with Him for all eternity. Even after His death, the assurance of all who were to ever live upon this earth was still only a chance. He died to give us a chance! Nothing, absolutely NOTHING was certain! Although Christ knew what His mission was, it was unknown to Him whether or not He could or would go through with it until He actually made His decision to.

The risk was so high, the stakes placed at such an astronomical height that all of Heaven wept and anguished over the pain of their Lord. Satan took this opportunity at Gethsemane to use all his unholy and depraved power in order to break our Lord and Savior, but to no avail. Our Savior, in full humanity, without the Father’s presence, withstood the fury of the storm that Satan’s onslaught wrought upon Him. It was in the garden that He saw our need, and in that moment, He acknowledged His mission and took those last steps toward His end. In this act of love, we were given hope.

This hope still exists, it points toward His soon coming. This hope was given to us through the cross of love on which our Savior hung. It is because of this that we have faith in His soon return. We must faithfully await our Lord’s arrival whilst doing all we can to seek and please Him.

Who would’ve known that three words carried such weight? If there was ever a time in which such concepts could apply, it is to this day and age that they would be applied. In an age where morals, beliefs and ethics are dictated by the almighty dollar and vanity – the world deserves a better example. It is into this world that God has called us to demonstrate His faith, His hope and His love.

If there was ever a question as to what could possibly appeal to me concerning my progression in my relationship with Him, it would most certainly be His love. His undying love for me is what gives me hope, and through this hope I have faith in His soon coming.

Never were there a group of words ever to be so purposefully intertwined with one another such as these. This, my friends, is the perfect trifecta.

The most interesting part of this is that when I had finally come back to my senses; when I had made peace with God, the verse I read is the exact verse that this lesson just happens to open with. Amazing!

In my mind, faith is probably one of the most difficult – if not the most difficult – concepts to wrap my head around. We’ve all heard that faith isn’t an idea; it’s an action, a lifestyle. Then again, words are words; and words were never much use against a life that demands results.

The lesson briefly introduces the topic of rock climbing in order to make a comparison. Well, I, too, have had many an opportunity to rock climb and I relish the chance when it passes through. I can relate to the purpose of the rope. I can also relate to life being the climb, where God is my rope. I realize that trying to climb out of my own strength is pointless, because at some point the fatigue sets in, the lactic acid builds up more and more, and the strength I once thought I had in abundance, starts to wane – my limbs buckle under the pressure. At some point, my finiteness takes over and I’ve done all but secured myself. In my own life, I’ve tried to climb of my own strength, only to fail, fall and try again. Of course, while climbing, I’ve seen others surpass me, ascending ever upward with such ease – all because of a rope. So after the umpteenth time, maybe it’s time to do it His way.

Being able to trust in a presence that cannot verily be defined by any knowledge we possess is a little daunting. While it’s easy to compare God to a rope, it isn’t as easy to grab a rope we cannot see or touch, despite being told that it’s there. I suppose faith is moving past the fact that we cannot see or touch, and relying on what we conceive as impossible. I suppose our faith in God should not be viewed as a means toward an end – something we do just to gain answers. Rather, faith is living life as Jesus lived his – a need to depend upon the Father. Faith isn’t an option.

We don’t believe blindly however. The Word has been given to us as recognition of the hope that we believe in. The “Rope” has always been there – It was there in the form of a pillar of cloud leading the Israelites out of captivity. It was there in the form of the God-man, Jesus, in order to save us from ourselves; and He, is here today in the form of His Word and the essence of the Holy Spirit, ready to finish the work He began in us.

Some may call this coincidence, happenstance, perhaps even chance. I choose to believe in the rope. Not only do I choose to believe in the rope, I choose to step off this platform of self, take the rope in my hands, and hold on to it for dear life. Where the rope leads, I do not know. For the first time in my life, I don’t have to.

            When I read through the Creation story, I am awestruck at the uncanny ability God had (and still has) to literally be able to speak things into existence. For instance, speaking light into existence (Genesis 1: 3), vocally separating the atmosphere in order to create the sky (Genesis 1:6), or even speaking vegetation into being (Genesis 1:11), and the list goes on. I cannot even begin to imagine that kind of power, the sheer limitless, infinite power it would take in order for that to actually be accomplished. If we look at today’s standards, people don’t even listen to half of what someone may say, much less adhere to it. It truly is unbelievable.

            It gets better though, because that old adage – “He saved the best for last” – never rang truer than this. At the pinnacle of Earth’s creation, He chose to make man. I rationalize it like this, simple-minded though it may be: If God made us first (which would attribute some apparent value to the fact that we were created first) and everything else after, Earth would not have been ready for us to inhabit. The fact that He created us after everything was already set in place should show us a loving and nurturing Father. As if that wasn’t enough, everything up till this point was just the ice-cream sundae. The cherry on top is this: God didn’t just create us with a snap of his finger, or a choice word here and there, no. He came down onto the Earth He created, took the dust/mud/dirt (take your pick) He created, and formed man from it.

            The progenitor of our race was formed from the very Earth he was created to rule by the very God who created him to rule it. Created not by a thought or even by word, but by true physical manipulation of a substance we could care less about. God took what He eventually knew would be so easily discarded and made out of it something of such infinite value that He would give all of Heaven to save it. What kind of love could compel someone so to the point of death, and not just a painless death, but one filled with violence, hatred, deceit, betrayal and rage?

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 5:6-8

            Whenever I was on the trail, I never gave a second thought to the mud, except that I had to avoid it so I wouldn’t become exceedingly dirty. Looking back, I now realize that this mud actually supports life the world over. It is necessary for growth and ecological balances. It’s not worthless, it’s not trivial, and from one muddy soul to another, neither am I.

When reading Isaiah 55:1, the Lord says “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters, and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.” The price that God paid for us has paid our debt for eternity! We need not pay with our lives in order to possess the key to eternity. It costs us absolutely nothing to come to the Father. Little do we know though, that while we strive to fight off life’s challengers by ourselves, God is still waiting for us to turn to Him so that He can fight for us. How many of us are willing to let Him take control?

It is one of the most difficult things to do, to let God take control. If we think about it, we are supposed to let go of the reins and hand them over to someone we’ve never actually heard, seen or even touched. We’re to give up control over our entire lives to the One that we cannot explain. Yet even from this invisible force, we’re blessed; we’re given opportunity after opportunity and above all given the chance to experience eternal life. All this is given freely if only we would believe. Reading further into this chapter, He tells us to “Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live.” The instructions are so clear, the request so confident, but our skepticism keeps getting in the way. Some of us may not even know how to approach Him, perhaps reasoning that we don’t feel ready or adequate. God expects us to change after we’ve encountered Him and not before. He can only take us as we are – while still seeing what we can become – and give us the means to conform to His image of us.

All of this sounds peachy, and it is, but it requires more than just momentary anticipation and excitement. It requires a devoted soul, a loving heart, and most of all, it requires faith. Faith is the basis of every Christian’s existence. It is the unseen force of belief in Christ that can and will eventually pull us through the storm we face. It is powerful; it is radical, and when exercised, is unstoppable. It is also inexplicable. In verses 8 through 11, the Lord gives us a glimpse as to how inexplicable His ways are. In today’s world, science can only go so far in order to explain the wonderful workings of nature, but God goes further, eternally further. Having faith is similar to eternity, in that, one cannot measure its bounds. There is no unit of measurement in describing just how much faith is required to move a mountain versus moving a cup. We either have it, or we don’t. We either believe in Christ, or we don’t.

None of us truly have any excuse not to believe. Every blessing we’ve been given – though we know we don’t deserve them – isn’t a one time gift. These gifts are poured out upon us with each new day. Trusting in the workings of God’s power and in His inexplicably glorious thoughts and ways will lead only to happiness and joy, regardless of the personal battles we go through. As it is written, “You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace…” (Isaiah 55:12) Being led forth in peace, despite the tempestuous storms that rage around us, despite Satan’s best to waylay our progress, despite any sorrow or grief that may try us is what God has proclaimed. Once again, the only question is: How many of us are willing to let Him take control?