Trust transforms

December 8, 2021 (Wednesday)

 

Life has a way of tossing doubt in our way. Life happens. There, I said it. You read that right. Life happens. If you haven’t noticed, life does not always go our way.

 

What happens when the events of life discourage us and create doubt? Follow me into a dark and dank prison. Chained to the wall, inhaling the putrid smells and enduring the woeful wails of fellow prisoners, is a man imprisoned because of his preaching. His name is John, known as “the baptizer.” His one solace is listening to his disciples tell him stories of Jesus. We read, “The disciples of John the Baptist told John about everything Jesus was doing.” [Luke 7:18a]

 

John has a long history with Jesus. John “the Baptist” was the one who proclaimed, “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” [John 1:29 NLT] Even before that we read, “At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.” [Luke 1:41 NLT]

 

John’s life was nearing an end. Discouragement, depression, and despair has the tendency to warp our perception. Despite their history, “So John called for two of his disciples, and he sent them to the Lord to ask him, “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?” [Luke 7:18b – 20 NLT] Here is John sitting in a stinking jail, and he wonders.

 

Lord Alford Tennyson, once observed honest doubt is better than blind belief (“half the creeds”). I believe that struggling with our faith is essential. Knowing is a good start, but unless it essentially changes you it is no better than the demons. James observed, “You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.” [James 2:19 NLT]

 

The intermediate step between knowing and doing is believing. We know something and we act a certain way… but the key is what is truly believed. This belief is sometimes considered personal truth. I have argued that our actions betray our true belief. Without seriously examining our belief we are left with an empty faith. Paul warned Timothy, “They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!” [2 Timothy 3:5 NLT] Acting religious has little to do with actually being religious. Going through the motions may be comforting but not necessarily transforming.

 

How did Jesus answer John’s crisis of faith? On hearing the question, Jesus turned to the crowd and healed people. As a verbal response, “Then he told John’s disciples, “Go back to John and tell him what you have seen and heard—the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.” [Luke 7:22 NLT] Notice, Jesus did not say, “Yes, I’m the guy.”

 

Instead, Jesus lays out the evidence and requires John to make up his own mind. To put the puzzle together, you would have to know the prophecies about the Messiah. Isaiah told us the Messiah would, “And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf. The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy!” [Isaiah 35:5 – 6a NLT]

 

Bottom line: belief is not what you think you know. Belief is what (or who) you trust. Trust transforms trials and tribulations.