During this pandemic season, I have detected a lot of fear.
There are unhelpful media sources and a lot of negative people sharing their own type of “virus.”
It is easier to spend more time worrying about the future than in communion with God through prayer. A theme verse in my life for many years has been 2 Corinthians 5:7 — “We walk by faith, not by sight.”
What I love about this verse is that it helps shift our focus away from what we can see. Sight, of course, is one of our most valued senses. It enables us to experience the world around us in living color.
But…the world around us is not all there is.
There are unseen realities. There are options when it comes to how we invest our lives. Last week, I was honored to spend a few days with some incredible Christian men. As we stepped away from our normal routine, we spent time in prayer and study together. A theme that emerged again and again was the theme of “faith versus fear.”
This is something that we discuss regularly at Hope Haven Rwanda. Our team is committed to walking by faith. Sometimes this means embarking on a multi-million dollar building campaign in the midst of a pandemic. Other times, it may mean opening up to just one more family in need, even when we are over capacity.
We believe that faith is like a muscle. The more you exercise it, the more you see God provide. Then, when you have a track record of God providing in miraculous ways, you discover motivation to take more steps of faith. We want to be “counter-cultural” in the sense that the things this world values are not the same things that we value.
We value reaching out in care and concern for those who are most vulnerable.
We value loving those whom some would deem unlovely.
We value trust in God more than anxiety about how things look around us.
I get re-energized every time I hang around people who are willing to step out in faith. One of the reasons that I’ve been so grateful to serve alongside Susan Hollern at Hope Haven Rwanda during the last three years is because of her bold steps of faith. As an entrepreneurial visionary, she is willing to boldly go where few people have gone before.
Last week, while hanging out with Rick Wolf, I detected the same faith-filled entrepreneurial spirit. As a retired USMC Lieutenant Colonel, Rick possesses a deep appreciation for our nation’s military members. We both recognize, and have personally experienced, the difficult nature of life as a military member. In 2014, God led Rick to start intentionally reaching out to active duty military members with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ. Now, the organization he founded (SoulSurvivorOutdoor.org) has literally impacted thousands of active duty military members with a unique combination of outdoor adventures and intentional faith.
During the time I spent with Rick, I witnessed some miraculous events! Lives are being changed as men are opening up with others about the struggles that they face and findIng a community that is willing to spur them on in faith.
Rick and I both choose to pursue a journey of faith, deciding to focus on the “then and there” more than the “here and now.“
One of the best illustrations of this perspective is communicated by Francis Chan. I encourage you to take a few minutes today to be inspired as Francis shares what it means to live by faith in this powerful video.
Whether you are concerned about our national election, the global pandemic or the economic crisis, I have a simple question for you:
Will you choose each day to live in fear, or in faith?