This past week I read a book titled, Have a little faith, by MItch Albom. Essentially the story of how Albom rediscovered the faith of his childhood, it is also the story of two men who demonstrated faith in the most difficult of circumstances. It caused me to look at my own example of faith in difficult days. I wish I could say that I showed a consistent joyous faith and confidence in God in the dark days. But I don’t. Yet it seems to me that even the fact of hanging on with my fingernails, and emerging with my faith intact, and sometimes even stronger, is in itself a victory.
Nevertheless, this is a book that has caused me to reflect and to pray, and I will read it again, with an eye to looking at the lessons that God is asking me to learn.
In the meantime I will hold on to the final lesson that this book leaves, and one that causes my faith to grow. One of the men of faith summed up the living of a life of faith in these words–I AM IN LOVE WITH HOPE.
I am in love with hope. What a reminder that placing our hope in God is an essential part of our living.
There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit! Romans 5:4
