The last month has not been easy.  My surgery for my gastric stimulator has been scheduled and cancelled twice.  Plans had been made and so many friends were ready to help.  The second time it was cancelled, I didn’t find out until the day before.  That morning I was feeling so worn from being sick more days than I am not.  I was in shock of the unexpected turn of events.  

In the wake of all of this, I keep coming back to the question, what does it mean to be steady and unshakable in faith in God in the midst of the uncertainty? Is it the lack of fear, doubt, disappointment, anger, or sadness that reflects an unshakable faith and steadiness?

Over the last few years, I have been learning that unshakable faith doesn’t come from the absence of doubt, fear, anger, disappointment, or sadness.  Those feelings remind us that we are human and don’t necessarily define the status of our faith.  Unshakable and steady faith comes from what you are anchoring yourself into.  It flows out of the foundation that you build your life upon.

I’m reminded of Matthew 7:24-27, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”  It’s in the storms and the unexpected turn of events that reveals the foundations of our lives.  If God and His word are not the foundation, then when the storms come the foundation will not withhold the relentless rain and wind of life.   

As I reflect on the events of the last few years, I can’t help but to think what a difference a year makes. Last year, my foundation wasn’t fully cemented and grounded in God and His truth and the foundation crumbled when the storm crashed in. I am disappointed and frustrated, and yet what would have sent me into a tailspin previously, has revealed a steadiness of faith that is new to me.

My reactions to this have revealed the growth of a year.  Not that I am completely unwavering and without doubt 100% of time.  I am human and those feelings are natural, but it again, is where you turn with the feelings and doubt.  The day of the cancelation a song, that has been on repeat for me over the past few months, was the first thing to come to mind as the feelings came raging in.  It is Red Sea Road by Ellie Holcomb and says,

So we will sing, to our souls
We won’t bury our hope
Where He leads us to go
There’s a red sea road
When we can’t, see the way
He will part the waves
And we’ll never walk alone
Down a red sea road

Oh help us believe
You are faithful, You’re faithful
When our hearts are breaking
You are faithful, You’re faithful
Oh grant us eyes to see
You are faithful, You’re faithful
Teach us to sing
You are faithful, You’re faithful, You’re faithful

I belted this song, probably off key, in my little apartment as I reminded my soul that He was still faithful and my Hope was still firmly anchored in Him. I was reminded that day, that a year ago, my hope was in the first surgery I had in April and that circumstances would get better. As I sit here now, this second surgery isn’t my hope. It is an avenue that God may use to relieve some symptoms, but my hope is in Him. It is in knowing that he holds my hand when I walk down a Red Sea Road.

Being unshakable and steady comes from anchoring into Him and trusting His timing when the storms rage against us. It comes from reminding our souls to not bury our Hope in Him. It’s holding firmly that when the unexpected comes that He holds our hand and walks with us and will make a way when we see no way. So, whatever you are facing, anchor in and seek Him in it. Read His word, sing worship music, pray, and connect to a community of believers that will join you in your prayer. I pray we continue to become even more unshakable and steady in our faith. May we land on Grace.