Tie a knot and hang on!

Days come when I wake up, survey the choices that face me about some situation, and say, "There are no good choices in this!" How does one choose from options that range from unpleasant, to bad, and worse? Thankfully, I don't face that kind of dilemma all that often, but they do come my way - and certainly yours too. When I feel boxed in like that, I think of an old phrase - 'When you're at the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.' And, truthfully, it works. God requires patience of us while He works out the details of our lives.

I remember a time when I accepted a call that led me to a place of ministry where there was no money, a pile of bills, little confidence in my leadership, and a demoralized core of people. For a while, I thrashed around like a miserable animal with one paw caught in a trap. I awoke each morning dreading another day. The temptation to walk away was always lurking. But, in my heart I knew that God had called me to that place, so I dug in and waited, and waited, and waited. He worked in me and around me creating new opportunities, bringing new resources, and teaching me yet another lesson of faith.

In the Gospel of Mark, there is a story of a young son who suffered terribly with convulsions and seizures which the text attributed to a demon that afflicted him. The boy's father brought him to Jesus' disciples but because of their inexperience and faithlessness they were unable to help. When Jesus came on the scene, He reveals an unusual flash of anger with His followers and then says, "Bring the boy to me!" Listen to the desperation of the father- "Since he was a little boy. The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us, if you can." (Mark 9:21-22, NLT) Jesus answered the man with a challenge. "What do you mean, ‘If I can’?" Jesus asked. "Anything is possible if a person believes." (Mark 9:23, NLT) Why didn't Jesus just heal the boy? Why does He draw this thing out? The text does not tell us. But don't you identify with that boy's father? I sure do. He might have been thinking - "Just do something NOW!" As Jesus challenges him the man faces a choice. Will he turn away offended or will he hold on? His reply is a model for us when we are faced with situations that try our faith! The father cried, "Then I believe. Help me with my doubts!" (Mark 9:24, The Message)

I've borrowed his prayer many times, crying out: "Lord, help me to hang on, enduring the storms, overcoming my fears, standing steady despite the doubts that sweep over me." Believer, remember faith is not the absence of doubt! Faith is a response of trust that chooses to wait on God. Even Abraham, the 'father of the faithful,' wavered! More than once he made a short-sighted choice when faith weakened. But, the overall course of his life reveals a man committed to the purposes of God. Listen to the mixture of anticipation and realization in this statement about his life - "It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God." (Hebrews 11:8-10, NLT) He left his ancestral home, without knowing his destination! Do you think that was tough? I do! He got to a land where he lived in tents, temporary dwellings, while he waited for God's promise to make a great nation from his son- a son not yet born as Abraham reached old age! Do you think that he ever wondered if it would happen? He sure did, the Bible tells us so. So, how can we call him 'faithful?' Because, in the middle of his doubts, he tied a knot in the rope he had, and hung on for dear life.

If you're struggling today, hang on. Here's a word from the Word. Ponder it and trust Him - even as you pray, "Lord, I believe! Help me with my doubts!"

"So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised. "For in just a little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. And my righteous ones will live by faith. But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away." (Hebrews 10:35-38, NLT)