Faithfulness in Difficult Times

“So, what does God want us to know? What does He want to tell us? He wants to tell us that there was a moment in the history of ancient Israel when in the light of the experience of exile and persecution, God’s people had to sit down and think and pray and imagine with a new intensity how they could be faithful in such circumstances.” – Rowan Williams, Being Christian: Baptism, Bible, Eucharist, Prayer.

This morning, my teaching partner, Kristi, and I had a moment to chat. We have been friends for years. It is the sweetest of friendships because it is both a lot of fun and also one of the places in my life that I can count on to challenge me in my walk with Christ.

This morning, our conversation was less about our shared love of Jeeps, dogs, and raw oysters on the half shell and more about what it means to be faithful in difficult times.

“You know, the thing about walking with God for a long time is that sometimes, we just know what He wants,” I said. “We don’t have to stop and ask for marching orders because we know- Love here. Forgive here. Offer grace here. It is the grown up thing to do. Just get about the business of doing it.”

“Right,” she said.

Then, she followed with some godly advice.

“I don’t want you to be afraid, Sherri. Go forward. Hold your head high. Do the work God has given you to do.”

I wonder if these were the kinds of conversations Israel had with each other in captivity, those long years of waiting for deliverance, searching out, as Rowan Williams said, how to “be faithful in such circumstances.”

Are you seeking to be faithful in difficult circumstances today? As Williams said, it may take some thinking, praying, and imagining to come up with how to do it but don’t you know God is honored in the process!

If that is where you are today, I would love to end with some really great advice, fresh off the press, that I received from the best of friends: