A Faith Forged in Fire!

Adrian Rogers is credited with saying, "A faith that hasn’t been tested can’t be trusted." The Bible expresses a similar idea in Proverbs 24:10 – "If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small" (The New Living Translation says, "If you fail under pressure, your strength is too small"). There are some things in life all "normal" people want tested before we are willing to trust them! Bridges, for instance – especially long ones! If you’ve ever crossed the Pontchartrain Causeway outside New Orleans you know what I mean. The Causeway is comprised of two parallel bridges just shy of 24 miles long, supported by 9,500 concrete pilings. Toward the middle you lose sight of land, causing some to experience the sensation of driving on a highway across the ocean! I crossed it with my wife Donna back about 2007 but she didn’t trust it! Besides bridges, we also want to know planes we fly in have withstood rigorous testing. Other things we want tested include foods we buy in the store & consume ... water we drink from the tap ... gold we purchase in our jewelry, and on and on and on. Nowadays we take for granted these things have been tested and found safe. And how about pharmacists and, even more, doctors & surgeons? I read about a man on the operating table who was extremely nervous and worried about his surgery. The anesthesia was about to be given. His doctor said, "It seems to me you are very tense about this procedure." The patient replied, "Yes," This is my first time I’ve ever undergone surgery." The doctor sought to calm him, but failed miserably when he responded, "I understand. This is the first time I’ve ever performed surgery, so I’m a little nervous myself." We become fearful and even angry if we learn something we consider vital and necessary to the health of our bodies and safety of our lives has not been tested. Why? Because our physical safety and well-being depends upon being able trust them.

The apostle Paul challenges us to think about the quality of our faith in a similar way in Romans 5:3-4. After summarizing the tremendous standing that is ours through faith in Jesus Christ in verses 1 and 2, the apostle quickly moves to write these words: "And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope." A beautiful necklace of spiritual diamonds is described in that passage – but when we hear that string of words, we are tempted to blurt out: "Say what, Paul? Glory in tribulations? Boast in our burdens? Be happy when we hurt? Rejoice when we run into problems and trials? How can we possibly do that?" Based on this passage, the apostle would say back to us, "I’m not talking about a flimsy, thin faith you can’t trust. I’m talking about a faith that’s been tested – a faith you can trust to keep your spiritual safety and well-being secure." Someone observed that  faith that can't be trusted to get you out of bed and to worship on Sunday can't be trusted to get you to heaven. Steel must be forged if fire to have temper. The heat is hot, but it is productive because of what it does to the metal. In a similar way, life sometimes puts the heat on us. But the heat of life's troubles can forge a faith that can be trusted in life and in death, if we let it. Can your faith be trusted? It can if it has been forged in fire.

                                – Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN