I once saw a preacher take his young daughter, place her standing on a ledge facing him, and ask her to jump to him. She did and he caught her. Then, he stood her on the ledge again, this time with her back to him. He asked her to fall backwards to him and he would catch her. She did and best that I can remember he caught her. It was a simple illustration yet very clear and to the point.

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval.” (Hebrews 11:1-2)

Most people will trust what they see, but trusting what is not seen is a different ballgame. If I was to stand on that ledge and have that preacher tell me he would catch me, I am not so sure I would fall voluntarily. This preacher’s daughter had that childlike faith that trusted her father would catch her when she stepped off. I, on the other hand, would not be so confident.

Many people have expressed their difficulty with the issue of faith. Everyone wants to believe in something with complete certainty based on the proven facts, but the frustrating thing is that God did not give us that luxury. And we are charged to conform to that ridiculous, innocent faith of a child that chooses to believe despite what daunting factors may be involved (Mark 10:15). There is that leap we must take that teases us from time to time to think we may not make it across despite the fact that Something has never failed to bring us the rest of the way.

I will come across these incredibly difficult questions regarding my faith and someone will tell me, “You have to have faith.” It will make me so mad because I want to say, “Did you even hear what I said? Do you even understand the complexity of this?” All the confusion blinds me to the fact that maybe they are the ones with the childlike faith that I have so much difficulty attaining. They are the ones that the world writes off as narrow-minded and naïve.

To be “grounded in the faith” is something I have always understood that I should be, but my definition of the phrase has not always been consistent. I have always believed I knew what the phrase meant but not always has my understanding been true to the phrase. Early in my faith, to be “grounded in the faith” meant to adhere closely to some doctrine. I just accepted that it meant whatever I was discussing with someone was wholly approved by God. But what I have come to understand is that doctrine and faith are not exactly synonymous. Grounding myself in some teaching seems to be much easier and simpler than grounding myself in faith.

For me to comprehend that a particular sin, though enjoyable, may be harmful is rather easy. On the other hand, when God does not exactly make sense to me, it is rarely as easy for me to rely on faith to carry me through the gorge. Faith is a baffling concept though it fills every day of our lives.

We want answers. It is in our nature to want to know and when we can not know, it drives us crazy. Made in His image, we are equipped with free will which many of us use in attempt to become our own gods. We want to be the ones who explain and control everything. We want to be the ones who have personally achieved everything we have.

Yet, life is not found in ourselves but in Him. “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6) In a life where I desire proof, I keep telling myself that faith is the deciding factor and that He is pleased just to see me trying. God is who He says He is and my limited ability to comprehend Him plays no role in His nature.