Skip to main content

Faith when life is hostile

A while back I watched a movie called Hostiles. It is a western drama which centres around a battle-hardened US officer Captain Joseph (Bale). He has been ordered to take his mortal enemy, the Shayenne war chief, Yellow Hawk and his family back to their tribal lands in Montana.  The whole journey is full of suffering, bloodshed, and death. But in the middle of these horrific scenes are some revealing conversations.  

Among the people in this afflicted group is a stricken widow, Rosalie Quaid who has just seen her family massacred in a raid. In a brief pause of the terror around them, Mrs Quaid sees Captain Joseph reading the Bible. So she asks him: “Do you believe in the Lord, Joseph?” The Captain responds: "Yes, I do. But he’s been blind to what’s going on out here for a long time". To which Mrs Quaid replies, “I can see what you mean”. 


As I watched that I thought to myself, this is how many of us live. We believe in God, but we think he does not see us. He is not interested! And so, what we do, is what Captain Joseph does in the film. He relies on his inner strength. His hero is Julius Caesar. The bravest man he knows  The true Christian does not live like that. We do not draw strength from ourselves, but from Him who bleeds grace for us. And we draw this strength by faith. 

The French divine Mestrezat says: “Faith is the hand by which we lay hold of Jesus. By faith, we are not only permitted to put the finger into the print of the nails, and to thrust the hand into His side, but the very soul finds refuge in His wounds”.  True faith in Jesus is not merely believing in God or having evidence that He really has died for us, it is to find refugee in His death for us! True faith is not one off. It is growing in finding strength beneath that cross of shame. It is trusting that Jesus carries the scars of grace for me. 

And because He carries those scars, He is not blind to my situation. So, I must go to Him. I will lean on His grace for my situation.  I will pursue Jesus in my prayers.  I will keep focusing on Him. I will let my troubles escort me deeper into His presence!  If you are follower of Jesus, keep going to Him in prayer. You may not get what you want but you will get more of Him than you have ever known. And in the end that is what we really need. Problems always come and go. But to have more of Jesus, Oh, what a priceless treasure! To have Jesus is to have Him carrying our every burden for us!  May the Lord help each one of us to have complete faith in the grace of Jesus in our desperate situations, especially during the current Coronavirus epidemic!

Copyright © Chola Mukanga 2020
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I am what I am by Gloria Gaynor

Beverly Knight closed the opening ceremony of the Paralympics with what has been dubbed the signature tune of the Paralympics. I had no idea Ms Knight is still in the singing business. And clearly going by the raving reviews she will continue to be around. One media source says her performance was so electric that "there wasn’t a dry eye to be seen as she sang the lyrics to the song and people even watching at home felt the passion in her words" . The song was Gloria Gaynor's I am what I am . Clearly not written by Gloria Gaynor but certainly musically owned and popularized by her. It opens triumphantly: I am what I am / I am my own special creation / So come take a look / Give me the hook or the ovation / It's my world that I want to have a little pride in / My world and it's not a place I have to hide in / Life's not worth a damn till you can say I am what I am The words “I am what I am” echo over ten times in the song. A bold declaration that she ...
Post a Comment
KEEP READING →

Mistakes in Ministry

This painful experience, along with my subsequent years in pastoral ministry, taught me never to assume every member of my church understands these foundational truths in the same way. A shared statement of faith, though extremely helpful, is not a guarantee that your entire congregation will always agree on doctrine, the ordinances, or church membership. Perhaps this assumption proved to be my biggest mistake. The words we use may not be received or understood as we intend them to be. Therefore, when our members ask questions, we must patiently answer them and slow down if necessary. When doctrine appears to lead to division, hold fast to the truth, but also resist the urge to see congregants as your “adversaries.” God loves them in Jesus and so must you.    JERI CHOI   (Source: 9 Marks )
Post a Comment
KEEP READING →

A Parody of Faith

There's a fascinating scene in Man of Steel when the man who would be superman, Clark Kent, turns up at a local church seeking answers. He is sitting in alone when local pastor Father Leone asks what is troubling him. Here is where we pick up the conversation : Father Leone : What's on your mind? Clark Kent : I don't know where to start. Father Leone : Wherever you want. Clark Kent : That ship that appeared last night, I'm the one they're looking for. Father Leone : [swallows nervously] Do you know... why they want you? Clark Ken t: No, but this General Zod... even if I surrender, there's no guarantee he'll keep his word. But if there's a chance I can save Earth by turning myself in, shouldn't I take it? Father Leone : What does your gut tell you? Clark Ken t: Zod can't be trusted. The problem is, I'm not sure the people of Earth can be either. [walks away] Father Leone : Sometimes, you have to take a leap of faith fi...
Post a Comment
KEEP READING →