Faith is at Its Best When It Quits Working

The recent revelation of Mother Theresa's crisis of faith has left far too many confused as to what constitutes real faith. Mother Theresa had mountainous doubts. As she labored among the poor and castaways of society she saw more misery than miracles. Yet she labored on.

We live in a results oriented world, believing that our efforts are worth undertaking only when we see viable empirical evidence. We step back from our endeavors if they fail to give us instant results. We bail out of marriages when our efforts fail to change our partners in what we measure as a reasonable amount of time. We quit our jobs when we hit a stream of unfulfillment. We discontinue pursuing morally correct actions when we don't get the results we expected. I describe this as an absence of faith in our actions of faith. It sounds oxymoronic, but it is the malady of our time.

Christians are called to live obediently and do good words simply because it's the right thing to do. We are to love our children even when they disappoint us. We continue serving our spouses when their annoying habits drive us up the virtual wall. We show up for work because it is the avenue through which our bills are paid, our children are put through college and the two weeks at the beach once per year are made possible.

Every Christian will eventually walk through the darkness of the soul. Giving up on God is not an option during those times. Plodding through these seasons of doubt is true faith. Trusting that God is there when there seems to be no results is what the book of Job is all about. There should be no surprise when a believer is tempted to question his/her faith. As a matter of fact, the longer we question our faith continuing to live in obedience, the greater the case can be made that our faith is more real than when everything seems to be "working."

Personally, I wouldn't want to go though an extended walk in the "valley of the shadow of death." But even then the 23rd Psalm reminds us that God is there. I have had my times of doubting aspects of faith. Thank God I have survived. During those times I have learned that faith is at its best when it quits working.