Nothin'

"Faith is unreasonable."

THERE COMES a point on the front lines when you lay down your will to die. You’re starin’ death in the face. It’s gazin’ back at you. But is no longer a thing. You’re no longer afraid.

I’m not sayin’ you’re givin’ up. Depression leads to suicide, whether that’s self-inflicted or because of illness. Sometimes, doing nothing is our gun.

I’m talking Desmond Doss, who saved his entire unit, lowering then one-by-one down a cliff to safety (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmond_Doss). He knew he was in a death situation. He’d moved past the fear. Past fear is faith. There, in that place, we trust God for everything, knowing He’s our only way out, and He won’t fail.

Abraham raised the knife to slay his son and heard God speak. This is a man without God living in him. There was no salvation yet. It was thousands of years down the road. I mean, just think of it, for a moment. God gave him Isaac when he was 100. That, in itself, is amazing. Abraham believed God for his promised son. And now Isaac’s a grown man, and his father’s just about to lower the knife. What went through his mind?

There’s a wrinkle or two. One, looking forward, Isaac and Ishmael, his half-brother, buried their father together (Genesis 25:9). So no harm done. Second, when Isaac and Abraham went to climb the mountain, Abraham said to his servants, “We’ll be back (Genesis 22:5).” Only in Hebrew. He let it be known that both of them would return. Still … we have that moment for Isaac when his dad’s laid him on the altar.

“Uh, Dad? Where’s the sacrifice?”

God will provide a lamb (Genesis 22:8). And He did. But Abraham passed a point where death was nothing, and he had no fear. Fear comes from what we don’t know. It is a product of the imagination. Meaning our thinking processes. Jesus heals the mind. He can remove fear entirely, where you can’t find it. Or any other of our mental traumas. We renew our mind through time spent reading God’s Word, leaning on the promises of Scripture (Romans 12:2). But the Holy Spirit also renews our mind by tearing down strongholds we cannot on our own (2 Corinthians 10:4).

Not enough is said in the church about God being IN YOU. God being WITH YOU, every day into eternity. We are not alone, never alone. We are His temple, where He lives (1 Corinthians 6:19). He’s right here, waiting to talk. We talk to those who live in our homes. We share house spaces, meals, and quiet time. In the Old Covenant, the priests were continually at the altar, always working in the temple. He filled it. They filled it.

We must seek Him and listen. It is knowing Christ – Father, Son, and Spirit – that removes fear. Because we know who we believe and trust Him completely. Which holds more sway – the doctor’s report, the test numbers, or God’s Word?

Fear is normal. Faith is unreasonable.

A man without legs climbed a high mountain, in the cold. That’s unreasonable. A man with one leg performed the high jump, leaping over the bar higher than anyone else. A blind man crafts beautiful objects from wood. Also unreasonable. A boy with fourth-stage cancer goes on camera, having had one arm removed, to say the bravest words. “I just want to ring that bell.” A young man given a 1% chance of ever walking again decides that’s enough and determines to keep trying. He won’t live this way. Unreasonable.

And from the Word, there’s Abraham, who said, even if God had to resurrect his son, he’d obey (Hebrews 11:19).

What God asks is outside of normal. We must quit reasoning it out, “Did God really ask me to do that?” and instead, take the first step. Because if God wants to raise us up to a higher level, wants us to live in heaven upon this earth, then saying, “Oh, but it can’t be me He’s speaking to,” believing it isn’t you, and you’re not able, whether from doubt, being short-sighted, or humble, will keep us in fear and prevent the exceeding greatness of what God wants to do. At some point, we must let go of our common-sense doubts and believe God.

Mary was a virgin, espoused to a man, who would probably have nothing to do with her when he found out she was expecting. Why did God do it that way? There are several reasons. His Son would be born of His will and not man’s. There’d be no physical lusts involved. But also, He knew Joseph. And Joseph believed the dream and set down what his head said, to do what made no sense. It was unreasonable and, from a human view, seemed risky. Except God was the one speaking, and His Word never fails (Isaiah 55:11). This is the revelation that stands us on the front line, past fear of death, with the wind in our teeth and victory a sure thing. “If God be for me, who can be against me?” (Romans 8:31) As the verse says – No one and nothin’.

God will get all the glory, so often He does things where there is no doubt. Even if it is in our mind alone. We matter to Him. He sees where we stand, knows what we are determined to do, and squeezes out of us the utmost courage. We pass by giving up to go all in, and such was Abraham when God said he’d have more descendants than the sand or the stars. Then one of those descendants penned a psalm, saying God knows all the stars by name.

“What, then, can we possibly say in response to this? Don’t you realize that God is on our side? And if God is for us, who can be against us? God does not need convincing to be good to us; No! It is we who need convincing that God is good to us! If he did not withhold his own Son—but gave him up for us all—don’t you realize that he will withhold nothing good from us? But along with his Son, he will give us all things that are for our good!” (Romans 8:31-32, Remedy)

“By trust, Abraham—when God provided him with an opportunity for victory over fear and self-promotion—chose to trust God and offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was ready to offer his only son, even though he clearly knew that God had said, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be recognized and the promises fulfilled.” But Abraham reasoned that if God could provide Isaac to two barren people, then he could also raise him from the dead (and symbolically, he did receive Isaac back from the dead).” (Hebrews 11:17-19, Remedy)


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Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com