An Illustration of Faith

Several years back at a summer mountaintop service, I used a sermon illustration which involved our beloved (and now married) friends Nathan and Eunice Jenkins being blindfolded and instructed them to sit down in a chair. However, after the blindfolds were put on, Nathan's chair was removed and he attempted to sit in a chair that was not actually there, which made for a very funny moment! After making sure Nathan was ok, my question was this... Who had more faith, Nathan or Eunice? The measure of their faith was essentially the same but the end result was entirely different. The point is this. It's not the measure of our faith, but the object of our faith that makes all the difference. The reality is that we all have a tendency to shift our faith from God to something or someone else. Maybe things are going well for us and we begin to think we are fine on our own. Or maybe things are not so great and so we begin to look elsewhere for security, strength or satisfaction. The human heart is prone to wander which is why it is so important to remind ourselves of the truths of Jesus every day, every hour, every moment if need be. The gospel reminds us that Jesus is the only thing worth putting all faith and trust in. His love for us was proven at the cross, and for those who believe, it is not only what we fall back on, but the very thing on which we stand.

So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic."
Isaiah 28:16