It Never Gets Easy

 May 15, 2022

Sometimes it only takes a word to help you see life from a completely different perspective. Today, that word came from my former DS and current friend Roy Miller. Our Sunday School lesson this morning was about faith. There is Propositional faith, the things we believe, as when we recite the Apostles’ Creed: “I believe in…” These are the intellectual statements that form the boundaries of our belief systems. They are important inasmuch as such systems guide the choices we make in life.

There is, in addition to Propositional faith, Experiential faith, ie, the actual living out of our beliefs in real time. It’s one thing to say, “I believe in God, the Father;” it is quite another to actually trust him when we are going through difficult times. As one participant this morning said, “Trials can steel our faith, or steal our faith.” Though those words sound alike, there is a world of difference between them.

We talked about the difficulties of faith; the challenging circumstances in which God places us, and the opportunities for witness these circumstances bring to one who believes in God’s sovereignty and love. Roy spoke of the times he has prayed for people publicly; the waitress at a restaurant, the checkout girl at the supermarket. Matt asked if anyone ever was angry at this offer of prayer. “Not once!” Roy said, although he did have someone decline his offer. “They really get surprised when I start praying for them then and there,” he added, noting that they probably hadn’t expected that.

It was then that Roy said something that surprised me. “I’m an introvert, and it never gets easier to do this. I don’t even like calling people on the phone.” Knowing Roy’s track record of prayer and witness, this caught my attention. I totally understand this difficulty. But he then drove it home. “If witnessing were easy, we wouldn’t need faith; we would do it in our own strength.”

I suspect most of us secretly hope Christian living and witness will somehow come naturally; that it will with enough practice, get easy. We assume that those who share their faith regularly are naturally outgoing and skilled in ways we are not. Thinking this way lets us off the hook; we excuse ourselves, saying, “Talking to people about Jesus just isn’t my gift.” No, it’s not, but Jesus never limited his command to witness to those who are naturally talkative or gifted. Hearing Roy say it never gets easy was such an encouragement to me, and explaining that if it were easy, we wouldn’t need faith gave me a different perspective and a much-needed kick in the spiritual pants. Thank you, Jesus for this introverted man whose faithful witness spoke divine truth into my spirit today!