Sunday Sentiments: Don't Let My Faith Fail

 

Earlier this week I stumbled upon a little video from Joni Eareckson Tada. I would assume that probably the bulk of you reading here know who she is, but for those who may not, let me offer some context. Joni (pronounced Johnny) was paralyzed in a diving accident in the late 1960s when she was just 17 years old. She was married in the early 1980s and has had an impactful ministry throughout her adult life – writing over 40 books, recording songs, traveling and singing, running a nonprofit, and advocating for those with all sorts of physical needs and limitations. I love reading her words and listening to/watching her share her thoughts, because she has such joy and wisdom to offer.

            In the video I saw (on Instagram) she talked about how her husband, Ken, was settling her in for bed. She requires all kinds of equipment to sleep – a ventilator, lymphatic sleeve, chin strap mask, oxygen, etc. – and how all those things make her feel very claustrophobic. She also lives with chronic pain, so she wrestles with that while trying to sleep, too. When he asked her if she was all set, she said to him, “Please pray that my faith won’t fail.”

            She quickly went on to add that none of us are exempt from failing faith, regardless of how long we have served the Lord. I appreciated so much that she shared it that way, because when you respect someone for steady faith as much as I respect Joni for it, it really can seem like nothing could ever shake that faith. But even she realizes she’s a target for Satan to bring in doubt. She’s not above that temptation. And she not only recognizes it, she addresses it.

            It made me wonder if I have ever asked anyone to pray that very thing for me. I’m wasn’t sure I had. I should have asked many times. But had I ever asked?

            I asked this week.

            I asked in my prayer group at work – that they would pray for my faith to not fail. Life is not excruciatingly hard right now. I’m grateful for that. But it’s also not free from worry. It’s not free from struggles. If we’re on this earth, we have struggles, regardless of how lovely life might be.

            May I not get so comfortable living this life with the Lord that I ever think I’m beyond the scope of failing faith. In fact, may I be so aware of it that I guard that faith fiercely and pray for others to join me in protecting it so it stands through the storms this life brings my way.

            One of the passages I studied this week as part of my Sunday School class study project was the little section in the Gospels that talks about the house built on the rock and the house built on the sand. What stuck out to me as I studied that is that we are all building. We are building on rock or sand, but we’re all building. So as I build this life of mine, which I am striving to build on the strong foundation of a rock, I need to remember to ask those helping me build to pray that this faith of mine will not fail. That I won’t get weary of fastening my house to a rock and move over to the sand where it’s easier and faster to build.

            Don’t be afraid to pray that your faith won’t fail. And don’t be afraid to ask others to join you in that. There’s no shame in it. There’s actually much strength in it.