Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada with a question for you about faith.
I promise, it’s a simple question, and it has to do with the way in which you speak about your faith in God. Basically, I would just like to know what words you’d choose to describe your faith in the Lord. Are you one who says: "I stand for Jesus!" or perhaps you say: "I am firmly committed to the Lord!" I ask this because the other night I got into a discussion with a girlfriend – I’ll call her Lisa – anyway, Lisa and I were discussing the subject of faith. It was a fascinating time and it gave me a lot of insight into her relationship with Jesus. She shared how strong she’s become in her faith. Lisa told me, “Joni, it’s no more messing around for me. It’s no more half-commitments. I am on the Lord's side. I am standing strong for Him from here on out.”
Now I know what she was getting at, and I admire the fact that she expresses such a deep desire to get close to God. But sometimes our choice of words reveals more about us than we realize, because to some, their faith is more like an allegiance to Christ, a kind of siding with Him and His cause. And that’s good, but I wouldn’t call it great faith.
Faith that God considers great has little to do with our dedication to Christ, or our commitment to Him, or allegiance to Him. Because when we place our faith in Christ, the truth is, we are not so much taking a stand for Him as we are acknowledging the stand that He takes for us. Now, this idea is so important, I’m going to repeat it again: Our faith becomes strong when we recognize that we are not so much taking a stand for Jesus as we are acknowledging the stand that He takes for us. A person of great faith is one who boasts not on the great things he does for the Lord, but the great things the Lord has done for him. Do you see the difference? Faith is self-despairing trust in God. It is coming to Him in empty-handed spiritual poverty. Faith is surrendering all, even our sense of duty, allegiance, or commitment. Hebrews chapter 11, verse 6 puts it this way, "Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."
Now, I am convinced that Lisa is going to grow in her faith because I recognize her earnest desire to draw near to God. And God will reward that. He delights in that. And I believe He will strengthen her faith as, more and more, she understands the commitment Jesus Christ has made to her, and to the Father on her behalf.
I pray that you (you listening) will become a person of great faith. And as you grow in your faith in God, it’ll be measured not by your shining commitment, but by the humbling degree to which you recognize how poor, absolutely dirt poor, you are in spirit. Your faith has power because you realize that no good thing dwells within you. You bring to the Lord nothing but your open hands, ready to humbly receive whatever God in His mercy will give. Faith means being sure of Christ's commitment to you, rather than your commitment to Him. Faith is having confidence in His love for you rather than your love for Him. So if you want to place your faith in Christ, surrender all, absolutely everything to Him. This is faith that pleases God. Hey, I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic – so please go to my radio page today at joniandfriends.org and share your perspective. Finally, join me in praying that all of us will grow strong in our desperate need of Jesus for that is the sign of great faith.
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