In years gone by there have been times when all of us have had great faith in our abilities. Those who have great talent seem to have the hardest time letting go of control to find even the slightest bit of faith. Maybe we let go awhile, but we quickly seize back the initiative and do not give faith a chance to take hold.
This is where the real true undeniable God of total understanding comes in to view. He is the one whom we can have faith in who will lead us in directions we have never been able to go in or stay in once we got there. He is the answer to the question, "But if I believe, will I receive what I need?" If we have answered that question with our own solutions for an extended period of time, this is even more difficult to do. Truth is, the road to faith is a long one, and filled with anxiety and doubt. Right now one of my best friends is battling the news of cancer and he fits totally in the aforementioned category because he has always been in control as a leader in our industry. The pain of having to let go to a God we are just learning about is almost as much as any disease we suffer from. The long road to faith is filled with barriers, bad weather and well intended promises that go astray when things clear up. It seems for some of us that God has to have us up against the wall before we surrender control and begin to have faith! Now the good news. There are a whole bunch of us real live folks and biblical characters who have struggled with this and eventually found our way to the foot of the cross. The road of faith leads to Calvary, but if we go back in time and trace the walk of Jesus from the beginning of carrying his cross to its final destination, we see him strong, we see him stumble, and we see him need help to get there, Take heart, we need some humans, their touch, their words, their prayers, and sometimes even carrying our cross for us until we are able to walk on our own. I can rattle them off, Peter, Paul, the woman at the well, the leper who sat by the water, the apostles who doubted Jesus could feed 5000, should I go on? Yes I will. I will go on this long road of faith with my friend for as long as he needs me too, and we should go on this road with others who are struggling to get where they need to be. Why? Because the end result if they make it to faith is that another lost sheep comes home, another prodigal son re-unites with his father, another broken person is healed by the grace of God. It's a long road to find faith, but there is a highway to heaven at the end of it!
1 Comment
Marsy Thomas
1/8/2016 06:41:26 am
What a blessing you are to us, Glenn! Thank you for these wise words.
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Glenn YankowskiGlenn is an ex-Marine Viet Nam vet who is also a recovering alcoholic, clean and sober for 30 years. He has been involved in start up and ongoing recovery ministry at North Atlanta Church and Campus for the last two decades. He has a passion for outreach and to spread the message that the answer to lasting and fulfilling recovery from addiction is in a relationship with Jesus Christ. He and the ATB team are available to assist in your questions or needs on an individual basis and will do so maintaining complete confidentiality. You may e-mail him at [email protected]. Archives
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