“The Lord opened a door of opportunity for me. But I had no peace of mind...” (2 Corinthians 2:13 NLT)
St. Paul recognized that God had opened a door of opportunity for him, but, because he was worried, he passed up this chance. How often does this happen to each of us--where a door of opportunity opens up, but anxiety prevents us from entering?
Anxiety results from fearing the unknown. For example, I don’t like checking luggage in when going on a trip, so I always pack all essentials in carry-on bags. Vacations can be ruined if luggage is delayed. I also don’t expect flights to run on schedule. If I have to be somewhere at a certain time, I allow lots of extra time for possible delays. I don’t have much faith in airlines to manage scheduling or baggage handling. However, I have a certain amount of trust in pilots, or I wouldn’t get on a plane at all. This is based on my personal experience. I have dealt with lost luggage and flight delays, but I haven’t been in a plane crash...yet. Instinctively, we trust or withhold trust based on prior experience. Even animals do this: a dog who is always fed on time, trusts his owner to continue feeding him. This is not faith.
Faith is more than an assurance in what we deem reliable based on previous experience. Faith is based on confidence in things unseen. Faith stands on the threshold of fear, looks out into the unknown, and sees the opportunity to learn supernatural trust. Faith is a deliberate commitment, a turning over of everything we value to God.
“Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.” (Hebrews 11:1 NLT)
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