What do you rely on when your beliefs are tested? I was facing a family crisis about 10 years ago and felt my life was at an impasse. Even though I knew intellectually that all I enjoyed was by God’s grace and mercy, I was offended that my clean living, my good works, and my longstanding service for God had not insulated me from this crisis. Adding insult, my attempts to solve it only made it worse. As I came to the end of myself, I had to face the truth that God didn’t owe me anything, and my response to Him could not depend on my circumstances. My good works had not saved me, and in God’s gracious way He had exposed this false foundation for what it was. The result was disorienting, to say the least. It was as if someone suddenly took a bridge out from beneath me, and I was left staring down at a canyon like in some cartoon expecting to plummet to the earth.
For a season, I questioned God and what I believed almost daily. Have you been there? In his book The Ragamuffin Gospel, Brennan Manning describes how God can use circumstances like these—what can seem like failure or confusion—for something precious, to call believers to a “second journey,” a deeper, more mature faith:
It need not be a bullet that initiates a second journey. A 35-year-old wife learns of her husband's infidelity. A 40-year-old company director finds that making money suddenly seems absurd. A 45-year-old journalist gets smashed up in a car accident. However it happens, such people feel confused and even lost. They can no longer keep life in working order. They are dragged away from chosen and cherished patterns to face strange crises. This is their second journey.
Over time, I began to understand that God was calling me to stop my attempts to live perfectly and somehow earn His grace. In this “second journey,” I could instead begin to embrace His love, which wasn’t put off by my sin and mistakes. It was such a paradigm shift for me. I knew this truth but somehow had never internalized it.
I wonder how it was for the Jews and devout converts to Judaism who heard Paul and Barnabas preach in the synagogue (Acts 13:43). What they had known about God to that point was challenged in a day: The promise was made to our ancestors, and God has now fulfilled it for us, their descendants, by raising Jesus (Acts 13:32-33 NLT). This wasn’t a crisis caused by tragedy, but I imagine it was no less disconcerting to discover this Jesus is the Christ.
What did Paul and Barnabas urge them to do as a result? I think there is a key in this verse: Continue to rely on the grace of God (Acts 13:43). The Greek word for “rely” also means “remain” or “stay.” How much depth is in that phrase! I think Paul and Barnabas knew that the key was not more human effort but a deeper experience and trust in God’s grace that which was already at work in their lives.
Are you facing a situation that challenges your faith? I encourage you not to lose heart. Here are a few things you can do:
- Meditate on Acts 13:43. Picture yourself standing on a bridge called “God’s grace” that is supporting you as you journey through these circumstances.
- Write out Acts 13:43 and memorize it. Look up other Scriptures that describe God’s grace.
- Meet regularly with trusted friends for prayer so they can remind you of God’s grace and encourage you.
- Read or watch testimonies of others who have relied on God through difficult times. Allow their stories to inspire you.
Continue to rely on God’s grace.
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Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Manning, Brennan. The Ragamuffin Gospel, p. 165. Sisters, Oregan: Multnomah Publishers, Inc., 2005.
