Curious Christian

“Trust is not ‘blind faith’. Trust comes over time, and is built up as people show that they can be relied on. And so, if we trust someone, we have some kind of evidence that they can be relied on. It’s no different with God. God has shown throughout history that He can be relied on, and that He always has our best interests at heart. He never lies, and He never breaks promises. When He asks us to trust Him, it’s based on His unfailing record of perfect love and keeping promises.” – Rupert Lineage

Faith is not something that comes easy for me. I naturally question everything, even myself, so it is natural for me to question God too, even now that I follow God. I suppose I’m a bit of a Job, or at least a Thomas in that respect.

My mother, when she gets to reminiscing, often tells the story that one of my favourite words as a child was “why?” and how I wore her out with it. So it may not surprise you then to hear I have little patience for “blind” faith. For faith that never asks “why?” I can be as contemptuous of blind faith as a hardened atheist. That’s something I have to watch, I know. Contempt is not a virtue. Nevertheless I confess this so that you know where I’m coming from. Faith is something that’s come upon me unnaturally. Faith has come through finding God trustworthy even when I didn’t expect it.

You know what though? It means that God never ceases to surprise me, never ceases to limitlessly exceed my limited expectations. Take the healing I witnessed a few years back. On one level, of course I know God heals. Nevertheless, when he healed the gangrenous and soon-to-be-amputated hand of an addict friend of mine, when another friend and I prayed over it, it felt surreal. I felt like Thomas exclaiming, “My Lord and my God!” or “Lord I believe, help me in my unbelief!” Nevertheless, my experience that God can be expected to surprise me gives rise to an unshakable faith. He will keep surprising me, because he has reliably proven himself so surprising so far!

But enough about me, what’s your experience of faith? Has faith ever seemed illusive? Do you find faith compelling? Has your ability to entrust yourself to the transcendent, to risk yourself to the transcendent, grown through experience? Do you see strength in a vulnerable faith?