Deep Trouble, Deep Faith

A friend asked me how I came by the faith I have in Jesus and if she, too, could acquire it.

When I was young, unbelievably young, before I knew about doctrine or denominations, I came to understand that that deep aching loneliness we feel is the cry of our hearts for God and that Jesus is the only antidote. It’s that lonely ache we experience when others are loved and we are not. It’s the lonely ache we have even in the midst of a celebrating crowd. Even when we are surrounded by comfort and loved ones, we know this ache. Even lying next to The One, we can feel this loneliness. I was blessed in that very young I learned that that aching maw is hard-wired into our souls so that nothing will quiet its cries until we call out to God and ask Him for Himself.

I told Jesus I wanted my life to be about Him. I knew I couldn’t save myself and that salvation could be found in Him alone. I knew very young that there are only two kinds of people on this earth. Those who are in trouble and know they are in trouble. And those who are in trouble and don’t know they are in trouble!

I believed what Paul said to the Greeks in Athens that “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring. Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man’s design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.” (Acts 17:24-31)

In my life, I have known days of rich joy and days of dark struggle but I have never known them alone. I am able to drink deeply from the well of life because of Jesus. My prayer for you is that you will realize you are in trouble. He is not far from each one of us. Just tell Him you know you are in trouble and ask Him to save you. That’s the first step to entering the deep heart of God. Take the plunge.