Belief - the ability to take a step into nothing

It is always an issue when we cannot see our way forward into the future. There is a point in time when we get to a nexus, a place of choice, and we cannot discern which road or path or way or career or... to take. It is a point where all our apparent opportunities and future possibilities seem to have dried up to become nothing and yet we have to make a choice to achieve our dream. In terms of faith this can perhaps be seen as the long dark night of the soul or some other graphic formulation. It is a place where we struggle within ourselves and try to discern a path forward. Sometimes, like Naaman (2 Kings 5.1-14), it means taking an opportunity which appears to be below our dignity and stepping out with a belief that our challenges will be overcome, At other times it is a more simple approach such as faced the disciples (Luke 10.1-12), is all that it takes.

In both of these scenarios the attitude that was taken is one of belief. Both the disciples and Naaman took a step into an unknown future and came through in to a new life engendered by God's presence in their lives. At the time I am sure that the thoughts in Naaman's mind were confused and up for debate. He saw himself being belittled in his status and severely insulted. In any other culture he would probably have taken Elisha's head without any qualms. Yet, the conflict in his mind was defused by some wise words and a thought that was God sent that allowed healing and a new life to begin. In our struggles when we come to that point we are often so overwhelmed by our own thinking and by the thoughts of those in authority that we forget to listen to God's voice prompting us to take a more humble approach rather than relying on our own fame, fortune, authority, etc.

Belief in God's presence leads us into new life

In the disciples case there is a difference they are following a plan which Christ has laid out for them. A plan that brings the fruit of the Spirit into the lives of those they interact with. The plan is simple it is to go out into the neighbourhood and bring the Good News into the hearts and minds of those who were willing to listen. This means that they went out to form community in the disparate communities that they entered into. They brought life with them and it was their joy that turned the hearts and minds of those they interacted with. For they were led by God's Spirit into communities that were dry. Their success depended on themselves and God's presence. To go out and become incarnational Witnessing to God's love. Those that disabused them they left on the side. We so often allow ourselves to be drawn into the abuse and hurtful ways of the world. In being so drawn in we allow those ways to direct what we do as holders of the faith in the community so that our faith rots from the inside. It is a single belief in God's guidance and direction that leads us forward into a community that is willing to step forward into the unknown.

Paul rightly states that it is what we sow that we reap (Gal 6.7). We sow discord and discontent in our lives we will reap discord and discontent. We sow God's love into the community we will reap the benefits of that love in our lives. Only when we fully live to Christ and bend our lives to Christ's goals will we begin to understand the wonders that God's love brings to our lives. There will always be those nexus points, which can turn us to any direction, but the clearest route for us to take is the one that God guides us down. It is often difficult to wait for God's direction but often this comes in a manner we least expect but so often forfeit as we ignore the possibility it presents. We want our solutions rather than believing in God's solutions. We see the darkest hour not realising that the dawn is just a moment away and so slip into despair.