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Today I am praying for a dear friend who is in surgery as I write this, having a double mastectomy. This is the beginning of her journal to battle a disease that shakes the core of even the strongest of women--breast cancer. And yet this remarkable woman is so calm, so peaceful, so unruffled. She has discovered the secret to living a peaceful life, even in the face of a potentially devastating disease. Even as she submits to a surgery that will mutilate her body. Even though she knows this is just of beginning of a long, painful fight to rid her of this life-threatening malignancy.
As I read my daily devotion in God Calling this morning, I was struck by the line, “Faith is too priceless a possession to be sacrificed in order to purchase knowledge.” It reminded me of the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, tempted by Satan to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. And aren’t we guilty of the same thing every time we strive to control the outcome of our lives? We get so frustrated trying to work out the details of our futures that we forget the simple act of FAITH.
Hebrews 11:1 gives us a definition of faith: “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” And I love The Message translation: “The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see.”
How many of us can truthfully say that the very foundation upon which our lives are built is this kind of faith? How many of us would be as peaceful as my friend if we were lying on a gurney about to have our breasts cut off?
But what if our foundations were built on that kind of faith? What would our lives be like if we remembered each day, with all its challenges and with every trial to simply have faith? Not knowledge, but FAITH? What if we didn’t seek so much to know as simply to trust?
I believe that we would become more comfortable with the uncertainties in our lives. We would greatly reduce the amount of stress we experience because there would be no need to worry or fret. We would transform our daily existence into a peaceful walk through life. The everyday frustrations that so often dominate our consciousness, would melt away as we embrace the simple fact that God is on the throne. He is in charge, he is our GOD and his divine plan is ultimately the best outcome for our lives, regardless of whatever that turns out to be.
Living this way would take a lot of pressure off of us. We would no longer be consumed with trying to manipulate and figure out the future. Instead we would be free to enjoy the present, to experience the simple pleasure of LIVING. We would embrace the joy of being in the moment and relax in the peace that comes with releasing all worries. We could truly live by the mantra that “The Journey IS the Destination.”
And do we really want to KNOW all the outcomes of our lives beforehand? Isn’t the anticipation, the uncertainty, an important part of the journey? How would we gain wisdom from our experiences if we knew everything before it happened? We would just be going through the motions rather than participating and being affected in a deeply personal way.
Psalm 34:14 tells us to “search for peace and work to maintain it”. This tells me that our living a peaceful life is important to God. And it should be important to us. The challenge is to find Peace through Faith, not through Knowledge. My friend has figured out how to do that. And I am learning...
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.” Proverbs
