Scripture, Tradition,
& Experience Agree …
The good news is that the scriptures, tradition, the experience of the saints, and our own experience tell us that it is possible to face the unknown and even to face opposition without fear and without defeat. To expect a life without struggle is unrealistic. But it is realistic to expect God’s help in living an authentic and joyful life as a Christian.
To daily declare our love for God and neighbor, to give ourselves as fully as we can to God, and to ask for God’s help in living an authentic life of faith is to be prepared to meet any and all opposition. Once we have given all of life to God, we have nothing to lose. We have everything because God has us.
—Rueben P. Job
A Wesleyan Spiritual Reader
As believers in Christ, we can “face the unknown and even to face opposition without fear and without defeat.” We can look into the Scriptures and find story after story where God showed Himself strong on His children’s behalf, even when the odds seemed insurmountable (just ask Elijah’s servant in 2 Kings 6). We know from history and the traditions of our faith of God’s miraculous provision (participate in a Passover Seder for a great experience recalling God’s faithfulness). Read the stories of our ancestors in our faith and hear their experiences of God’s hand (Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Elisabeth Elliot, for example). And if you’ve walked with Christ any length of time, you have God-sightings of your own to lean on. If you’re at all like me, you can remember a time you thought ‘game over’ only to realize, in Christ, a new door miraculously appeared and opened before you. These testimonies present the Good News to us in a rubber-meets-the-road way. Each victory in Christ emboldens us to take the next step, even if it’s into the unknown or unfriendly territory. It’s faith come to life: My God has got this! Are you following Jesus? Look to history, or better yet His-story, and embrace the power and the purpose of your God to deliver. Be courageous! Do not fear! —DH
—David Hoskins, Founder & Care Guide, Sanctuary Clinics