Lessons in Faith
Pastor John taught on faith this past Sabbath.
A real life lesson that God gave me, years ago, was through my son, Isaac. We lived in Michigan's Upper Peninsula at the time. It was winter so I left for work in the dark and got home when it was dark. The roads were almost always snow packed and slippery.
Isaac was about four and his sitter was sick, so he went to work with me. I was a teacher of the severely mentally impaired. My job was very flexible, not to mention there were totally cool and unique toys, so he was a happy boy.
The bittersweet bookends on this day were the 30+ mile drives, one way. Isaac was not as appreciative of this "quality time" as I was but we sang and talked and played little games on our way in. It was daylight by the time we got there.
At day's end it started to snow heavily. Of course Isaac sat in the front, no car seat, but he was buckled in. (Those were different times.)
He was too short to see anything but the snow falling in the headlights. At first he thought it was kind of fun, felt like a fair ride, like we were falling into a tunnel. After awhile it became disorienting, even to me. I had to change my focus frequently to avoid road hypnosis caused by wipers and the poor visibility. Poor Isaac - he couldn't see anything but dashboard lights and what looked like us: falling into a tunnel.
After 15 or 20 minutes he asked me to make it stop.
In total empathy, I glanced at him. How I loved that little critter; if I could've made it stop, I would've.
"I can't, Son, only God can make it stop."
He startled me by suddenly shouting, "God! Make it stop!"
What startled me even more was that it stopped. Immediately.
By the Holy Father's help, I didn't wreck the car.
That was one of my first encounters with the faith of children. Since then I have seen many prayers answered when children intervene (too). During my husband's cancer treatments, my class prayed for him. Treatment was rough, but his recovery was amazing.
I am not saying only children get their prayers answered. James 4:16 tells us that the effective prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much, but I am saying that God inspires our faith through those around us, even children. They are so humble and unaware by the witness of their simple faith.
Matthew 18:3 says that unless we be converted and become like children, we will not enter His kingdom. The most amazing thing about children is their humility and teachability. We cannot learn new or different ways if we are not teachable.
Jesus promises us that if we can believe, all things are possible. There are times I want to believe but struggle. Mark 9:24 is one of my "flash" prayers: "Help me overcome my unbelief!"
Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Heb 11:1)
May we all have the faith of a mustard seed (Mt 17:20), and a child. Amen.