Are you a morning person? I’m not. I can stay the course at night, but I am a bear in the morning. But I am a Christian, so in another way I am a morning person! In fact, I am a “morning by morning” person! If we don’t find the morning-by-morning way to live the Christian life, our faith will not survive. We will never find faith enough to finish. Faith that works is a faith for every moment of every daily day; it's moment by moment faith!
The faith I experienced to trust God when my father died may desert me today when my child gets sick. The trust I was able to model to my children when I received some ominous medical news can fly out the window when my daughter goes out on her first date! Why is it that faith that worked yesterday may not work today? Is it God’s fault or mine? Well, it’s not God’s fault, so it must be mine!
God is faithful all the time. I am faithful some of the time. God is good all the time. I am good occasionally. God is full of compassion all of the time. I can get a twinge of compassion on Thanksgiving or when the Salvation Army rings their bells at Christmas. I am good at exhibiting mercy to people who have hurt others but bad at offering the same mercy to someone who has hurt me! So it is obvious that I am not God! The problem is that I am me, but people expect me to be like God – loving, good, compassionate, and merciful all the time.
To be more like God and less like me, I need to stay close to Him. The secret of faith for every moment is that I seek Him out morning by morning, evening by evening, every day. The more I make sure He is my constant companion, the more godly, or God-like, I will become.
What can you do when you are faced with such distress that your faith becomes shaky? Maybe you are watching the destruction of your highest hopes and fondest dreams. You need a faith that works in the face of overwhelming trouble. Perhaps you experienced faith in the face of adversity yesterday and yet find yourself struggling with faith enough for today. Moment by moment, morning by morning, God desires to supply you with faith enough to finish.
As we learn to draw on the faithful God who loves us and provides for us we will find that morning by morning God’s grace will be sufficient. God’s mercy will sustain us. God is God enough! That grace is available to us by faith through prayer. Prayer makes it possible for limited people to meet an unlimited God. As we deepen our relationship with God through prayer, as we remain as “shadows” to Him, our Rock, we will discover faith that works!
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