We live in a world that teaches us to do whatever makes sense to us – trusting our own instincts and perspectives. And often we can provide a logical defense for every choice we make. We then assume our life of faith will essentially be more of the same, but with even greater clarity and certainty. We discover instead the unsettled life of the frontier. But it’s here that God is forming us – exposing us to uncertainty that demands greater trust, action, and endurance.
From Noah to Abraham, to all the heroes of faith, we see faith as a disruption and exposure to risk. These men did not build, offer, fight, or endure because this is what made logical sense to do in the moment. In fact, from a human perspective, many of their acts of faith would appear as outright foolish. And yet they acted because they trusted God to shape them for his glory, without demanding a particular outcome.
In the same way, our hardships are the frontier conditions needed for God to shape us into the men who he can entrust with more of his kingdom. This is not the path of clarity or control, and many might question our sanity or pride for not following conventional wisdom. There will likely be many dark nights in which we question this ourselves.
But we bring a different interpretation to our struggles when we learn to see faith as a frontier for our formation. Difficulties are no longer something merely to avoid. Instead, we accept this is the process of God perfecting our faith.
We’re not failing or doing anything wrong when life is still hard, or when we’re waiting and being obedient without a clear understanding of why. Faith is doing its intended work in these seasons.
Don’t wait for certainty. Faith doesn’t require you to understand everything, only to trust enough to take the next step.
