Many years ago, I saw a comic strip that showed this very athletic and muscular male diver standing on a high dive platform. In the next panel, this man is impressively taking the first step on that diving board. His head is looking straight ahead, he is standing tall, and he is focused on the dive that he is about to make.
Each panel shows him confidently and very impressively, getting ready to make this dive, but just as he reaches the last few inches of the diving board, this impressive looking diver chickens out. The last panel shows him crying and holding onto the end of that diving board for dear life.
That little comic strip has stayed with me for all these many years, because I can relate to that diver! It took me a long time to build up the confidence to even just jump off the high dive at our local pool let alone dive in head first. Even though that man in the comic strip looked the part of a very confident diver, inside, he was the exact opposite, scared, unsure, and not confident at all.
Whether we try to appear that we are confident on the outside or if we don’t even bother to hide our insecurities, a lack of confidence can keep us from experiencing all that God has in mind for us. I read a news report that said that 85% of people struggle with a lack of confidence. 85% of us!
If you are part of the 15% who do not struggle with confidence, please be patient with the 85% of us who struggle in this area. And maybe today’s worship focus will lead to a positive impact on us on what it means for us to have a confident faith.
What does it mean to have a confident faith and what difference can it make in our lives if we have confidence in how we live out our faith?
I know that for me, depending on my sermon topic, my confidence can definitely waver before I get up to preach. When I was in seminary, I served as a part-time pastor. It was my first experience in preaching. Penny will vouch for me on this. Every Saturday night, I would get an upset stomach because I knew that I would be preaching the next morning.
But over time, and as I gained more and more experience, my confidence grew to the point where I could actually enjoy my Saturday evenings! And even today, I feel some of those butterflies in my stomach when I get up to preach, but for most Sundays, they now fly in formation. I think it’s good that I still get a little nervous because there can be a fine line between confidence and over-confidence.
That little bit of insecurity helps to remind me to not rely on my own abilities but to depend on the Holy Spirit to speak through me. Having a confident faith doesn’t mean that those insecurities completely go away. It just means that those insecurities do not get the best of us.
Some other times that I can feel anxious and and unsure in my faith are when I begin a new ministry and I wonder if it will make any difference. I also tend to feel a lack of confidence when I’m in a situation where I feel uncomfortable for whatever reason.
I’m sure we all to varying degrees struggle with confidence from time to time. And this is why today’s Hebrews scripture reading can be so important. It talks a lot about confidence and assurance in our faith.
Just listen to these words that we heard a little bit ago. The author of Hebrews says, “Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh) and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of our faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful.”
So much to unpack here that can help us to have a more confident faith. So, those words I just read begin with the word, “therefore,” which means that what has been previously said is what leads to the conclusion that we can have confidence in our faith. What precedes the word, “therefore,” is this author’s reminder to us that everything we need has already been done for us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
Through Christ, we have been forgiven of our sins and not only that, but we also have the Holy Spirit who is with us to empower us to live out our new life in Jesus. God is always present with us. Jesus is always present with us through the power of the Holy Spirit who is enabling us to grow in being the people that God has called us to be.
The big take-away here is that it’s not all up to us. It’s about what God has already done for us through Jesus Christ and what God is continuing to do in us through the power of the Holy Spirit!
Which means, that whenever the butterflies that are flying around in my stomach… and by the way, where does this image come from??? Why do we even use this image of butterflies in our stomach in describing when we are feeling anxious and nervous?
I looked it up and it says that it was most likely used in 1943 when the magazine, “Boy’s Life” had an account of a paratrooper and former scout, Bill Gardner who said this on his very first training jump, “I landed all right and although I’ll always have butterflies in my stomach every time I go up, I’ll never experience the fear of that jump. Somehow I feel as though I’ve accomplished something worthwhile.”
I love the origin of this phrase because it remind us that it’s OK to be nervous but to always remember that the reason we are nervous might just be because we are about to accomplish something worthwhile!
We are human beings so it is very natural for us to question if we are up to the task that is before us. The author of Hebrews wants us to know that being a follower of Jesus is worthwhile but to not let our fears get in the way.
And this brings us back to that word, “therefore.” The author of Hebrews says that because of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, we can enter into God’s presence with confidence, and a true heart in full assurance of faith. Confidence, and a true heart in full assurance of faith.
Let me say that one more time… Confidence, and a true heart in full assurance of faith.
That little line can help the butterflies fly in formation rather than give us upset stomachs. Confidence, and a true heart in full assurance of faith.
And also important to note is that our Hebrews passage concludes with these very important words, “for he who has promised is faithful.” God is faithful. Those are good words to remember as well when we are feeling anxious and unsure of ourselves. God is faithful.
But notice that the author of Hebrews also offers this important and very practical way to help us have a confident faith. Not only do we remember what God has already done for us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. And not only does the author of Hebrews want us to know that the Holy Spirit is the active presence of Jesus in our lives to help us live out our faith. And not only are we to remember that God is faithful.
This author of Hebrews also wants us to know that we need each other in order to have a confident faith. The author writes, “And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
The author of Hebrews is referring to Christian fellowship and worship. Our faith isn’t meant to be a “me and Jesus” type of faith. Our faith is meant to be a “we and Jesus” type of faith where we encourage one another through small groups, through bible studies, through worshiping together, through serving together, through doing this thing called church side by side. We have a “we and Jesus” faith, not just a “me and Jesus” type of faith.
Whenever I look out at your smiling faces before I preach, I know that you are praying for me. I know that you are pulling for me. Whenever we step out in faith, we can know that people are praying for us. We can know that people are pulling for us. This is what it means to be the church!
It’s not just you preparing to dive off that high dive. There are people who are cheering you on and reminding you that God is faithful. The Holy Spirit is with you!
A church member who was facing a life threatening illness asked me this theological question… “Is it possible to have full assurance that I’ll go to heaven when I die?” Such a heavy question, right?
And I asked him, “Well, what does it mean for you to be a Christian?” And he said how he has placed his trust in Jesus. How he believed that Jesus died for his sins and how he loves God and the church. But then he said, “But I’m still scared.”
And so, I simply reminded him that it was OK to have doubts, but that our faith is about what God has done for us, not about what we have done or left undone. We closed our time with a prayer thanking God for sending us Jesus and for the confidence that we can have that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus our Lord, not even death.
He thanked me for our conversation and said that it helped him to feel at peace with God. He died just a few weeks after we had that conversation. And whenever I think of him, I often wonder, “Did I help him to have a more confident faith, or was it really him who helped me?”
Probably a little of both.
A Confident Faith
O God, you invite us to be holy as you are holy. You created us in your image and called us good. You have given us everything we need to be the people you have called us to be. You went so far as to send us Jesus who lived, died, and rose again for our sake. You also sent us your Holy Spirit who empowers us to do more than we can ask or imagine. You have given us everything we need to live fully for you. Forgive us when we forget who we are and who you have called us to be. Remind us that there is no need for us to be timid in our faith because you are and will always be faithful. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment