It was the end of my sophomore year in college and I found myself surrounded by my professors who expressed their concern about my progress in the music program. They were unimpressed with my vocal maturation and asked if I was teachable. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. After years of being positively affirmed, for the first time in my life my greatest strength had been described as a weakness. I ran to my dorm room and cried until my eyes could no longer produce tears. I had no idea what to do.
When confronting failure, the most natural thing to do is to succumb to a state of pity and regret. I regretted going to Spelman. I regretted being a music major. I regretted not working hard enough. I felt pitiful and had no plan to combat the rejection and fear. It was during this time that faith in God made all the difference in the world. He would either lead me in another direction or strengthen me to continue. I didn’t at that time know which would occur, but I knew I had to look to Him.
Peter said if you are the son of God then call me to walk with you on water. Jesus said “come.” Peter went. After defying the rules of gravity Peter, noticing the tumultuous waves, began to doubt, and subsequently sink. He could have surrendered to despair and drowned, but he instead called out to the Lord for help. Jesus, though disappointed in his lack of faith, reached out and grabbed him.
Believing God can seem like an impossible task, however the hardest part about believing is not so much the initial step but the continual decision to keep believing. With so many distractions and reasons to doubt, the measure of one’s faith is the ability to look at the obvious and yet believe the impossible. I, like Peter, had to get past the hurt and shame, and believe that God was the same Savior in whom I believed before the failure.
God is God in victory and in defeat. When faced with defeat look to Him, not your circumstances. Look to Him, not what surrounds you. Look to Him, not to others. He works everything for our good if we love Him and are the called according to His purpose. One of the signs of loving Him and being the called is trusting Him and choosing to believe Him, even when believing seems harder than giving up.
- B. Landi
Supplementary Verses:
Matthew 12: 22-33
Romans 8:28
Romans 8:28
It can be difficult... Believing He will help us with the little things... that He will guide us through the difficulties of life... Or simply obeying His command to believe Him.. Adrenaline can make you take the initial leap of faith. Those who literally walked with Jesus did this, but he repeatedly referred to them as "ye of little faith" so while we musnt feel too bad when we find ourselves doubting, we must be resolute and exercise persistance... determined to be one of those blessed although they have not seen. Thank you for this food for thought. *WONDERFULread
ReplyDeleteedit*determined to be one of those blessed for their belief** although they have not seen.
ReplyDeleteI agree wholeheartedly! Exercising persistence. I love it!
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