We all live with faith – for example, we have faith our car will start each morning. Have you ever had the dreadful experience of turning the key only to hear a ‘click, click’ and then nothing? Or realising one of the tires is flat? Is there ever a good time for a car not to start?
To go under an anaesthetic is an expression of faith in those who will operate. Business partners need to exercise faith in one another. In Victoria, we have faith that people will do the right thing and COVID-19 case numbers will come down.
Yet, faith also contains an element of uncertainty, and sometimes we struggle with wanting to have faith and yet also having doubts. There is a story in the bible of a father talking to Jesus about his sick son. He says to Jesus, ‘I do believe, but help me overcome my disbelief.’ Sometimes faith and doubt co-exist. We want to believe, but have sufficient doubts that we waver between the two. Sometimes our faith is stronger, but not always.
One of the biggest tests to our faith in God is when we, or people we love, go through a difficult or sad time. Suffering invariably challenges our faith. There would be many people in Melbourne now whose faith in a whole range of areas has been shaken. And yet in our uncertainty and even fear, we long to have faith that God is still there, otherwise we feel dreadfully alone and vulnerable. In one sense, the amount of faith we have is not the most critical issue, but rather it is who our faith is in. Strong faith that is misplaced will bring disillusionment, whilst faltering faith in a loving, sovereign God will sustain us during times of hardship.
May God strengthen you and your families as you reach out to him in these difficult days.
Shalom,
Gerry Riviere
Senior School Chaplain
