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Day 21 – Faith
Psalm 27:1 declares: “The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?”
And Philippians 4:13 states, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
If the Bible is true, it appears than none of us has a thing to worry about in college, or anywhere else for that matter. It looks as if we would only trust God, we could do it all. What’s more, it looks like we haven’t a thing to fear in the meantime.
But if we interpret the Bible this way, we will find ourselves disillusioned and doubting God’s love and guidance sooner or later. Probably sooner, because there are a lot of things that happen to us that bring sadness and discouragement. We can then bury our true feelings in a vain attempt to will ourselves to feel what these verses seem to promise. Or we may just decide that “faith” is a mind-game that isn’t rooted in reality.
The key to genuine faith is to be mindful that the authors of Scripture never denied the awful pain of our world. In Psalm 22:1, just five Psalms before the one quoted above, the Psalmist cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And it was these very words that Jesus moaned from the cross. Likewise, the Apostle Paul, who wrote the confident words of Philippians 4:13, wrote in that same letter from prison about “sharing in Christ’s suffering.”
True faith in Christ begins and ends at the cross, the place of pain and rejection and suffering. But the cross of Christ is not random disappointment or pointless pain, but a participation in the redemptive suffering of Jesus. So no matter what happens to me, I do not fear because my Lord not only suffered, he also rose again.
I do not let the setbacks and disappointments have the last word, because in fact they did not have the last word in the life of Christ. It’s not true that “I can do all things,” whatever and whenever I want, and live life unafraid. But it is true that with the Lord as my light and stronghold, living in and through Christ, all things are possible.
Todd Lake | Vice President for Spiritual Development
Psalm 27:1 declares: “The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?”
And Philippians 4:13 states, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
If the Bible is true, it appears than none of us has a thing to worry about in college, or anywhere else for that matter. It looks as if we would only trust God, we could do it all. What’s more, it looks like we haven’t a thing to fear in the meantime.
But if we interpret the Bible this way, we will find ourselves disillusioned and doubting God’s love and guidance sooner or later. Probably sooner, because there are a lot of things that happen to us that bring sadness and discouragement. We can then bury our true feelings in a vain attempt to will ourselves to feel what these verses seem to promise. Or we may just decide that “faith” is a mind-game that isn’t rooted in reality.
The key to genuine faith is to be mindful that the authors of Scripture never denied the awful pain of our world. In Psalm 22:1, just five Psalms before the one quoted above, the Psalmist cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And it was these very words that Jesus moaned from the cross. Likewise, the Apostle Paul, who wrote the confident words of Philippians 4:13, wrote in that same letter from prison about “sharing in Christ’s suffering.”
True faith in Christ begins and ends at the cross, the place of pain and rejection and suffering. But the cross of Christ is not random disappointment or pointless pain, but a participation in the redemptive suffering of Jesus. So no matter what happens to me, I do not fear because my Lord not only suffered, he also rose again.
I do not let the setbacks and disappointments have the last word, because in fact they did not have the last word in the life of Christ. It’s not true that “I can do all things,” whatever and whenever I want, and live life unafraid. But it is true that with the Lord as my light and stronghold, living in and through Christ, all things are possible.
Todd Lake | Vice President for Spiritual Development
About this Plan
This 40 day prayer plan was written by students, faculty and staff at Belmont University as a daily devotional for incoming freshmen. Each day guides and encourages new college students in their faith in Jesus Christ through the word of God and the sincere thoughts, seasoned advice and honest prayers of the contributing authors. May these words help you grow in your love for God and your love for others!
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We would like to thank Belmont University for providing this plan. For more information, please visit: www.belmont.edu
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