Faith Matters Faith under pressure

What do you do when the heat is on, the pressure is mounting and the odds are against you? We have all been there and know exactly what it feels like when there appears to an be impending tragedy with few or no options. It is not a comfortable space to be in when the pressure is mounting. Where is your faith?

Many years ago, my mother suffered a very serious heart attack. She was rushed to the hospital and after many tests and such, by-pass surgery was the next step.

While she was in recovery, a deacon from her church came to visit and saw the monitors, tubes and all sorts of medical equipment connected to her. This made him nervous but he went on to ask how she was doing. Well mother got so excited in that moment and said, “I am here and I don’t know what God has in store for me, but I can’t wait to see what’s next.” She was excited despite the appearances of challenging conditions.

We live in times when we are expected to remain ‘cool’ under pressure. That mode of operating goes back a very long way. We have seen it portrayed in many movies.

Many of us long for that type of cinematic cucumber cool for ourselves. Whether it was Clint Eastwood, John Wayne, Humphrey Bogart, Tom Cruise or Will Smith - we wanted that cool demeanor. We may have had our favorites and we remembered some of those more famous lines from those movies like, “Go ahead, make my day ...”

Its different in life for some reason. When we are under pressure those characters and their classy, gutsy lines are not with us. When we are faced with real life challenges in the real time of life, it’s just not the same.

Those images, those characters and those classic movie lines escape us in the moments that real life hits us between the eyes. Where is our faith? When confronted with challenges, why doesn’t our faith show up, or does it? Perhaps it does but we don’t recognize it.

What do you do when the heat is on? What do you do when under pressure? A deodorant commercial long ago had the tag line, “never let them see you sweat ...” That is how we live - striving to be cool under pressure. In the real-time of life, things are completely different.

In reality, we all sweat. When you think about it, it is in those moments when we may whisper or perhaps say it out loud, “oh God …” Are we really calling upon God or simply using common language that automatically comes out of our mouths when we are challenged?

We sweat and feel the pressure when the amount of our bills exceed the amount of our cash.

We sweat when the doctor says that we have a condition that will require surgery.

We sweat when conditions that are normally under control are popping up as problems.

We sweat, we worry, and we sometimes cave under pressure. And yet at the same time, we have the power of faith at our disposal if we simply call upon that higher power.

A quote from scripture contradicts our knee jerk, commonly practiced reactions. It is in James 1:2-6 and it reads as follows:

“My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing ... ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you. 6 But ask in faith, never doubting.”

When faced with trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy. What a marvelous approach to challenges in that this scripture is calling upon us to consider joy. If we really think about it, what better way to demonstrate and call upon faith except in the face of challenge? Faith in the space of no challenge has no requirements for anyone to call upon the use of faith. Challenges represent a divine opportunity to demonstrate and effectively call into service our use of faith. Consider challenges as nothing but joy.

So rest in your faith and know that surrendering to God’s guidance provides peace and even joy. Just as my mother was coming out of major surgery and challenging conditions, her faith empowered her joy. In the face of what appeared to be no way out, she was excited about what was next. Faith under pressure is simply joy for what is coming next. The Rev. Dr. Leon Bailey Jr., is pastor of The Church of Bethlehem, committed to holding services in homes. He can be emailed at RevLeon@ gmail.com.