FAITH! (Hebrews 11)

“Faith is BEING SURE of what you hope for”, Scripture says. “It is CERTAIN of what you do not see”.

You have no EVIDENCE, you have NO PROOF. But somehow, you KNOW! You just KNOW!!!

I was at Hilton Hotel to see a client. I entered the concierge and headed to the elevator. I entered and punched the key: 10^th floor…

I had NO DOUBT the elevator would get to the 10^th floor. I had NO THOUGHT the elevator would break down half way. The irony was I don’t know who installed the elevator, I had no idea if they did a good job. I just KNEW I would get to the 10^th floor by that elevator!

THAT IS FAITH.

We go through life daily by FAITH, we are just not aware. We see FAITH as one deep spiritual experience, a revelation reserved for the selected few. But EVERYBODY HAS FAITH! The Disciples asked Jesus, “Lord, increase our faith!” Apparently, they had NO IDEA what FAITH is!

I got to the 10^th floor and stepped out of the elevator. I had NO DOUBT the floor was strong enough to carry my weight. I didn’t think of the possibility of the floor collapsing under my feet as I walked to my client’s room. I just KNEW the hotel was structurally sound. These Disciples had FAITH, they were just unaware. The fishermen among them would row their boats out into the sea to fish. They KNEW their boats would not capsize. They KNEW they would not die at sea: they KNEW they would be back on shore in a few hours, ALIVE. These guys lived by FAITH in their daily affairs. They asked Jesus to increase it because they thought the level of faith they had was small. But it wasn’t! That was why Jesus told them, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed…”

But you may ask: “There are people who get into an elevator, press the floor number they are headed and half way up, the elevator breaks down and they get trapped! Would you say they did not have FAITH?”

Truth is, entering the elevator is proof of FAITH in the first place! If it so happened that the elevator broke down half way up and people get trapped, THAT IS THE EXCEPTION, NOT THE RULE!

Let me give you an example:

I got back home last night with my fuel tank on empty. And my wallet on empty too. So, as I laid in bed to sleep, I made plan for the next day: I would go to the nearest ATM, withdraw some money and fuel up.

As I dozed off, I had NO DOUBT I would withdraw money from the ATM the next morning. But guess what? I got to the ATM this morning, slotted in my card and punched in the numbers. Then a message flashed on the screen: TEMPORARILY UNABLE TO DISPENSE CASH.

Now, does that mean I did not have faith? No! I actually had FAITH, that was why I drove to the ATM! That the machine did not dispense cash doesn’t negate my faith! The ATM not dispensing cash is THE EXCEPTION, not THE RULE!

The message displayed is even very significant: TEMPORARILY UNABLE TO DISPENSE CASH! It did not say “PERMANENTLY unable to display cash” -the inability, the lack of cash, the seeming “failure” was TEMPORARY!

So, faith IS the “BEING SURE” of what you hope for: You are SURE you WILL get to the 10^th floor with the elevator. That it breaks down halfway up does not negate your faith: it is just a temporary thing: you’ll eventually get to that 10^th floor.

All ATMs with “TEMPORARILY UNABLE TO DISPENSE CASH” displayed would sooner than later be fixed to dispense cash again. No ATM displays that message forever: the situation WILL change!

It’s just a matter of time…

Shalom,

Haruna Daniels.