Ordinary Time 
Pause
Our lives are filled with images. They’re everywhere — on our phones, on television, on the side of the road. Pictures of celebrities. Pictures of athletes. Pictures of just about everything.
But what about faith? Where do we find pictures of faith?
Finding faith is no easy task. Neither is becoming a person of faith. But with God’s help it’s possible. With this in mind, we look to Scripture, and we commit ourselves to gathering with other Christ followers. Even now we wait expectantly for a word from God, with the hope that we might become a picture of faith for others to see.
Listen
You brought a vine out of Egypt. You drove out the nations and planted it. You cleared the ground for it; then it planted its roots deep, filling the land. The mountains were covered by its shade; the mighty cedars were covered by its branches. It sent its branches all the way to the sea; its shoots went all the way to the Euphrates River. So why have you now torn down its walls so that all who come along can pluck its fruit, so that any boar from the forest can tear it up, so that the bugs can feed on it?
Psalm 80:8-13
Think
We think security, safety, satisfaction, and certainty are attainable. And as Christians we often proclaim that these things are gifts from God. But sometimes, despite all of our best efforts and earnest prayers, things don’t go as planned, and when this happens we are often filled with a sense of peril, loss, confusion, and doubt.
When the Israelites were invaded by other nations and the stability of their tribe was threatened, they looked to the past and derived comfort from knowing that God had worked faithfully on their behalf before. But at the same time, they felt helpless.
“God was committed to us. God delivered us. God gave us a king. God blessed us. We were fruitful and prospered for so long. But now things are terrible. Is God still committed to us?”
Israel was full of fear and in need of faith.
Sometimes life gets difficult, but faith propels us forward into the unknown and takes us places fear would never allow us to go. In this way, faith saves us from ourselves, our fear, and our need for control.
Chris Robertson
Pray
God, I’m too often controlled by fear. I have my own ideas about how things should go, and I don’t fully trust you. Please help me to walk into the unknown and to let go of all that is holding me back. Amen.
Go
In Scripture we meet hundreds of faithful people whose stories continue to inspire, enliven, and challenge us today. Each of their stories is a unique picture of faith, as well as a constant reminder that faith is always a call to action.
“Faith is better understood as a verb than as a noun, as a process than as a possession. It is an on-again-off-again rather than once-and-for-all. Faith is not being sure where you’re going but going anyway. A journey without maps.”
Frederick Buechner, Wishful Thinking
