Faithful Living

The politicians and pundits wait breathlessly for a document from the White House. It finally drops. Opposing camps see what they expected and implement their messaging strategy (Impeach! Witch hunt!). If you live by politics, news cycles, and social media, you swing from outrage to incredulity, from vindication to condescension. It is exhausting and frustrating.

How do we live in these times? The answer has always been the same. By faith. Os Guinness offers a sweeping view of living by faith. “Seizing the day, making the most of life, and understanding the meaning of life are inseparable. All three require that we come to know the Author of time and the meaning of time and come to know the part He calls us to play in his grand story, which makes the deepest overall sense of time and history. We are then invited to live lives that align our individual hopes and destinies with the very purpose and destiny of the universe itself.”

A Hebrew prophet wrote simply, “The righteous will live by faith” (Hab. 2:4). His point was, just because the nation has turned from God and will suffer for it, you can still live by faith. Early Christian writers quoted Habakkuk’s words in making various related points. In Rom. 1:17, any person can become righteous by faith in Christ, regardless of race or religious background. In Gal. 3:11, neither religious community nor rule-keeping make you righteous. Instead, faith makes you yearn to live rightly, and participate in community. In Heb. 10:38, faith is how the soul endures the distractions and disruptions of life.

God’s faithfulness to you inspires yours to Him. In 1923, Thomas Chisolm set this idea in verse. “Great is Thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see. All I have needed Thy hand hath provided. Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me! Summer and winter and springtime and harvest; sun, moon, and stars in the courses above join with all nature in manifold witness to Thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.”

Living by faith means you are faithful to God and trust what He has revealed about you. He created the world and placed you in it. He has given you value and a purpose for existing. By grace through faith he has given you a righteous identity in Christ. Jesus went to prepare a place for you in eternity and will come again when the time is right. He demonstrated that suffering and strife do not have the last word.

Politicians and nations may come and go, but God’s truth withstands the tests of time. Whatever would distract and disrupt your life, faith clarifies your reality and summons your strength to endure. Politics, current events, or social media could never offer the abiding peace and hope that accompany living by faith.