"AS IF!"

Exodus 2:11-3:22; Matthew 17:10-27; Psalm 22:1-18; Proverbs 5:7-14

“But Moses protested to God, ‘Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?’  God answered, ‘I will be with you. And this is your sign that I am the one who has sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very mountain.’”

“Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately, ‘Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?’  ‘You don’t have enough faith,’ Jesus told them. ‘I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.’’

I disbelieve at such a fundamental level I don’t even recognize my lack of faith.  Consider this.  We flip a light switch and never think about the possibility of failure.  Those burned out bulbs surprise us every time.  But let a chance come along for faith to work, and it’s immediately, “Who, me?”  Read the Scriptures again.  “God answered, ‘I will be with you.’” “Nothing would be impossible.”  Right; or like my kids might have said a few years ago, “As if!”

The Holy Spirit asks, “What if?”  What if we just had as much faith in God as we do a  light bulb?  What if we approached His throne expecting His intervention, claiming His grace and being bold enough to anticipate His provision?  My life would change, for sure.  I’d worry a lot less.  But even as I write this, I “know” it’ll never happen.  Too utopian.  With apologies to those who have heard this before (You deserve to hear it again!), I’m like the guy who prays all night for the mountain outside his window to throw itself into the sea.  The next morning, he raises the blinds and says, “I knew it wouldn’t happen….”  Oh, my gosh, my faith is in failure!  What kind of life is that?!?

Cynicism is a cold word, and a character flaw that slowly poisons all it touches.  The trip from cynicism to bitterness is short, and from bitterness to isolation is not much further.  Time for a detour.  After all, it is possible to live “as if.”  Everybody knows that.  Don’t let ‘em see you sweat.  Tough it out.  Play through it.  Be humble.  Fake it until you make it.  We have tons of experience denying reality.  So, let’s just switch gears and start living the ultimate reality.  Let’s live as if Christ meant what He said, and can back it up; as if we really believe we are forgiven; and as if we actually understood how much God treasures us.  Who knows, we might even move a few mountains.