On Sunday, Tom spoke about faith. He defined it in negative terms--by the things that faith is not. Faith is not about being certain about the outcome. Faith is not about twisting God's arm to do our will. Faith is not about removing all doubt or fear. Faith is not about wishing for the best.

So what is it? Tom suggested this: Faith is a commitment to trust God. Interesting. It's a commitment--not to trust that all will be ok, nor to trust in our own good decisions or council. It's not about trusting in anything other than the God we have come to know as utterly worthy of our trust.

I re-read the 11th chapter Hebrews where the faith of generations of Biblical characters is reviewed. I noticed, this time, how many times an action verb was used to describe their faith.

By faith, Abraham went...Noah built...Rahab hid the spies...Moses refused his identity and chose the people of God...Joseph instructed that his bones be taken out of Egypt...the people of Israel passed through the read sea...

Faith is clearly about action, even in the face of very uncertain circumstances. So isn't that just foolishness? If our faith were in our own wisdom, strength or character, it would be foolish indeed. But our faith is in a God who has proven his character to be unshakable. He has shown us his perfect justice and his unsearchable love through the cross. He has earned our trust, though He didn't need to, and he has also demonstrated his love, though we didn't seek it and often don't return it. Our faith can be a bold action verb because He is there to catch us, to walk before us, to live within us. There is nowhere we can go where He is absent. Faith is never foolish when the object of our faith is Christ.

Psalm 91:4 "His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart."