A No-Quit Faith

21. May 2008 by BruceSmith.

If you have been reading this week you know we have been looking at God’s desire to put within each of us a Lion-hearted faith. This kind of faith, which finds its reality in an intimate relationship with Christ, is all about trusting that God can make a way where one does not appear apparent. This lion-hearted faith is a sure hope in God’s ability to defy the odds, and His ability to give us victory as we stand ready on the battle field of life armed only with His strength.

That all sounds great and we all want to live life with a constant sense of victory and joy. The reality, however, for most of us, is quite different. There are moments in our lives when we just want to lay down and die. We want to quit. Sometimes we are ready to allow a dream to die. Other times its a marriage. For some its a surrender to pressures that are attacking us emotionally, psychologically, or morally. We all face the temptation to just hang it up.

We are not alone! Some of the greatest figures of scripture came to a point of total exhaustion. David despaired of his life and actually wanted to die. Paul, the writer of most of the New Testament, and a huge hero of faith, faced similar despair. Jeremiah, the great “weeping prophet” was on the verge of giving up the ghost. Even the incredible Old Testament figure, the one who would not face death as the rest of us do, Elijah, who was a man of pristine character, faced the temptation to hang up the cleats. He actually, under pressure and threat from Jezebel, prayed to God that God would take his life and just end this whole deal! This is the guy who was so GOOD that he was “taken up” to be with God and did not face death as we know it! The same guy! The one who did not have to face life’s last enemy, actually prayed that he would. How low do you have to be to get to that place?

Developing a lion-hearted faith does not negate or ignore the fact that life is hard at times and we are too weak in and of ourselves to fix everything. I have known very successful, connected, and powerful people who wanted to take their own lives. We have all seen, in the media, celebs galore attempting to quench their pain through various destructive measures (sex, drugs, suicide, divorce, murder…). The bells, whistles, and toys provided us don’t mask our pain and emptiness.

The lion-hearted faith we all desire comes from an understanding that the odds defying God of scripture is intimately involved in our lives, is pulling for us and with us, and He desires that we make it through to a better place. Even when we are ready to quit on Him or those things He has called us to, He does not quit on us. It is His no-quit love for us that inspires a no-quit faith in His children. The valley, as we saw yesterday, could in fact, be God’s road to His bigger plan.

When we find the roadmap of life more than we can handle there is yet hope for the journey. When we have gotten side-tracked and off course, we have access to a navigation system, a Navigator, to get us back on the road to life to the full. There is a source who will hear our pain and who has the power to do something about it.

We are told in scripture that He is our great High Priest and King. In this world we have come to embrace a very distorted view of priests and kings, and for good reason. But the terms, when applied to Jesus, have grand implications. Knowing Him as our priest and king instills the lion-hearted faith we need and desire for the tough spots in life.
In the Old Testament the priest was the one representative of God who went before Him on behalf of all the people of God. No one else had entrance. Further, despite this unique admission for the priest, he did not go lightly before God. In fact, as he would enter the temple and venture toward the place of prayer, a rope would be tied around him so he could be pulled out in case God put the big final quit on him!

Jesus, we are told, has become the One completely pure and grace-filled priest who has made a way for all of us to approach God one on one. Further, we are told that this Priest continually makes “intercession” for us before God. That just means He has our back in the heavens and is crying out before God that we make it through the current storm. He is asking God, continually, to give us our fight back even when we are about to quit. When we, like many of the biblical heroes of faith recognize we are far too morally blotched to go before a holy God, we can, through the person of Christ, approach God knowing that He grants us access and intimacy. Jesus brought a way for morally bankrupt people.

Our King. We are also told in scripture that Jesus is our King. In a world where kings throughout history have been less than admirable in most instances, it is hard for us to get the picture here. This King, unlike all others in history, and unlike all current would be kings in American politics, can and does come good on every promise He makes. This King promises that He can instill in the hearts of His kids a lion-hearted, no-quit faith. And this King, unlike any military leader in history, has to ability to claim that He can and will win any and every battle He enters into on our behalf.

If you are on the verge of quitting today, quitting a dream, marriage, God-given pursuit, or even if you are considering giving up on the whole Christian living thing, consider that Jesus offers you grace, pleading before God, and His power over all that is assaulting you. If you have been attempting to figure it out or work it out on your own, considering letting go and allowing the Lion of Judah to develop your battle plan. If you are in the fight of your life, know that all the power needed is at your disposal in Christ.

And remember, when the heroes of faith were breathing their last, that is when God stepped in and defied all odds. When your ability and strength are found wanting that is the time to offer yourself, your dream, your marriage, your all to Him.

Don’t quit,

Bruce Smith

optimuslife.org

Tomorrow, we look at real life stories of triumph, last minute heroics, miraculous grace, and restored lives.

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