Relentless Faith
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.
—Reuben Job
There are many stories in the New Testament of people relentlessly chasing down Jesus. And whenever He saw the great lengths people went through to reach Him or the faith their actions conveyed, He was moved to compassion and mercy. Several instances come quickly to mind: the leper pleading to be healed (Matthew 8:1-4), the desperate parent of a demon-possessed son (Mark 9:17-25), the paralytic whose friends lowered him through a hole in the roof to Jesus (Luke 5:17-26), the woman with an issue of blood who reached out to touch even a corner of Jesus’ garment (Luke 8:43-48), and the blind man calling out to Jesus as he passed by (Luke 18:38-43). What besets you today? What infirmity? What fear? When you’re ready to approach the One who promises to meet us in our need, you’ll forsake all other avenues for the most expedient path to the Lord. When the world tells you you’re unclean as they told the leper and the woman with an issue of blood; when the world tells you there’s no hope as people told the friends of the paralytic and the father of the demon-possessed son; when the world tells you to quiet down like they shouted to the blind man, go all the more, in relentless pursuit of Jesus! Christ is hope personified. In Christ, we overcome. —DH
—David Hoskins, Founder & Care Guide, Sanctuary Clinics