Faith

Christmas is in less than six weeks, which means it's (unofficially) festive season. But as we gear up for tinsel, presents and lavish decorations, the world feels sombre and winter dim. Stories of broken cities and mourning families fill our news screens, again.

Too many times this year, I've stopped to wonder why things are going wrong. Why families are having to flee their homes; why poverty still exists; why innocent people are being killed on a shockingly too-regular basis. So many times this year, my evening prayers have been desperate questions and pleas for God to bring transformation.

In these horrible moments, it's hard to see a creator God who is still in control. As events unfold across the globe, from Paris to Beirut to Burundi and beyond, it's a struggle to hold onto the hope and light that the Bible promises.

People wonder and question how we can hold onto faith.

But I'm reminded that even though these are especially difficult days for many, brokenness is a regular part of our world. Each day, people are mourning the loss of friends and family members. Each day, people die of preventable diseases. Each day, women die giving birth to their children. Each day, horrible circumstances mean that pain and suffering are rife in every single country on this planet.

It's not fair, and it's not right. But it's always there.

So when I'm questioning why God would let one catastrophe happen, I need to question why God would let any of these injustices happen. When I'm confused about the state of the refugee crisis, or terror attacks on a beautiful city, I should also be confused about the ongoing poverty that's attacking families in our country, continent and globe; or the diseases that are killing people every day; or the corruption that's causing inequality for so many.

When I think about this broken world in all of its forms, with all of its suffering and pain, I realise that trusting in God is even more important.

Because the world itself can't bring the hope we need. Humans on their own cannot achieve the transformation that has to happen. It needs to be bigger than us. It needs to come from our creator.

To those mourning, crying, fleeing, dying and wondering, it's a difficult concept to conceive. But if evil exists then good must too. And if Christianity offers a message of hope and light, then it's worth holding onto.

My favourite definition of faith is this one:

"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for, and assurance about what we do not see."  - Hebrews 11:1 

So when the world is falling apart, faith in God means trusting that things are still in control. Faith in God means holding onto hope even when all seems lost. Faith in God means investing in something greater than the problems of our world, and believing that things will be put right again, one day.

Faith is believing in what we cannot see, but understanding its truth.

Faith: (noun) 
"Complete trust or confidence in someone or something"