Borrowing Faith
It happened again. The past few posts have been an outpouring of some of my most embarrassing and secret struggles with trusting God when things aren’t working out the way I think they should. Whenever I feel God prompting me to open myself up like that, I balk. Who wants to publicize their spirituals battles? Not me! But it never fails that when I obey, I receive a letter, email, or message from someone telling me how much they needed to hear what I had to say. They cannot say enough about how much it means to them to know they’re not alone and not the only ones struggling with such raw emotions.
As I read in Lysa Terkeurt’s newest book this morning, I came across two quotes that made me smile, and I wanted to share them with you.
“Sometimes when you can’t find your footing with your own faith, you just have to go stand on some else’s for a while. ”
Oh, I like that! I love the thought of being able to stand on someone else’s faith when mine is weak and wobbly. But even more so, I cherish the idea that someone might be able to stand on my faith when their own is crumbling beneath their feet. That’s what my ministry is all about. That’s why I pour my heart out in writing and share my most secret places with my readers—so they can know they’re not alone. And if something I say gives them enough hope to stand upon my faith while they’re working to repair their own, I say, “Praise the Lord!” This leads me to Lysa’s second statement:
“When you make one other human simply see they aren’t alone, you make the world a better place. ”
I believe that. I know what a joy it is for me to read through a fellow Christian’s struggle and realize they’ve put into words what I hadn’t been able to. They were describing my feelings exactly, like they’d been shadowing me and reading my thoughts. And at that moment, though I mourn for them in their struggles, I find comfort in knowing it’s not just me. There’s peace in discovering I’m not the only Christian who argues with God or doubts His goodness from time to time.
To be honest, I have no idea where I’m going with this. I guess I want to remind you, first off, that you’re not alone. We all go through stuff, and some of it is downright ugly. Welcome to life! But I think I’d also like to urge you to be open with others. Don’t be afraid to share your struggles. Your honesty may be exactly what someone else needs today.
If you’re in a place where you feel your faith is crumbling from beneath you, I would be happy to let you borrow mine. I won’t say it’s the greatest or most secure faith, but I think it’s strong enough to hold us both while yours is under repair. You’ll get through this—whatever “this” is, and God will make something beautiful from it. Trust in Him. He never fails.