Building Faith

I don't know about you, but in my life it seems like "Faith" is a reoccurring theme. Not only faith in God, but also faith in myself, faith in others, faith that my family is safe when I am not with them, faith that I will get that project for work done on time, faith that my wife won't kill me when she finds out that I forgot to do the dishes (oh wait, that's hope...probably vain hope too), faith that I can keep up with my high-energy children, faith that I can do what is right at the right time, faith that I don't screw everything up trying so hard or not trying hard enough--which all kind of circles back to Faith in God. 

If you are anything like me, I learn the most from my experiences and I like to learn by hearing about other's experiences too. I love a good story and finding a life lesson from that story. I have lots of stories, just ask anyone who knows me. So I thought I would kick-off this blog with my most recent story on Faith.

The Direction
Recently, my wife and I have made a lot of decisions surrounding my career path. During this effort I was visiting my dad and he was talking about his service in the Navy and how amazing it would be to have one of his kids be in the military. In the past I have not thought much of these types of comments because I have a couple of past medical issues, like hernia surgeries that I thought would disqualify me. However, this time I felt inclined to entertain the discussion further and soon learned that I might be eligible for a waiver.

The more I spoke with my dad the more I felt a strong and ever-growing prompting to look into joining the United States military. Immediately after our conversation, I looked at my wife and asked her to go for a drive with me. As we drove, I conveyed the strong promptings I felt to look into the military. Over the next month, the more we spoke about it and looked into it the more confident we felt through a strong and ever-growing peace. 

The Fear

But it seemed so contradictory. The whole idea of joining the military scared us! It seemed to contradict everything we prayed for in a job—like being able to give more time to my family. However, one thought motivated me to keep my faith: “I do not want to be swallowed by a whale like Jonah.” I could just picture myself walking by a pond at a local park, when out of no where a giant whale jumps out and swallows me whole! Or for that matter, the next time I visit Sea World, Shamu may jump the tank and swallow me as I sit helplessly licking a Popsicle in the stands. Not really kids. 

The Faith

With kidding aside, what figurative whales could truly swallow me for not listening and not having faith enough to trust that God would not lead me astray? I do not think that God is vindictive. In fact, I believe that God actually saved Jonah that day when he was swallowed by a whale. I believe that when we fail to put forth faith in God, we fail to see clearly the direction He is trying to give us. Thus, by failing to see His direction clearly, we lead ourselves into harm’s way. I mean, Jonah was the one who went on the boat and then told the crew to throw him overboard, not God.

So my wife and I approached the Lord in prayer. We expressed that we felt His promptings to look into the military and asked for doors to be open. We expressed our fears, but focused on our faith and willingness to follow regardless. Then, as quickly as we asked, doors were opened. I found a position that exactly fit my expertise and it was in the Navy—just like my dad. In fact, it was so good that if I were accepted into the program, I would start four ranks higher than what my dad retired at after 20 years.

The Challenge of Our Faith

The only problem was that I had just three weeks to prepare for the selection board deadline. In that time I would need to study, take a test, conduct three interviews, gather dozens of personal records and history, fill out a ton of paperwork, and get scheduled for a full physical exam.

Unfortunately, with each step we took, we found road block after road block. But knowing of God’s goodness, we took the same steps at each road block that we took before—we prayed to God for direction and His miracles to open doors and clear paths. At one point it looked as though a simple miscommunication with the recruiter was going to foil three weeks of non-stop hard work, only a few days before the deadline. So we prayed for God’s miracles. The next day we learned that the recruiter called the national office to see if he could submit my application and provide one remaining part a couple of days after the deadline. To his surprise, he learned that the deadline was pushed back an entire month. My wife and I also felt surprise and relief, although we immediately recognized God’s hand.

During the next month we put forth relentless effort as my wife continued to work full-time and I worked part-time, helped manage a political campaign and served in the clergy for my local congregation--not to mention caring for our three beautiful kids. But just as before, we ran into roadblock after roadblock with the application process. In fact, only four days before the submission deadline, the recruiter told me that he never received a college transcript I ordered a month earlier. I spent the next day tracking down an amazingly helpful friend and personal connection--all while praying and paying--to have the documentation shipped in time.

The Lessons

With each step I felt humbled at God’s hand and mercy. I felt like I was blind folded and listening for the right voice to guide my next step, trusting that I would not fall. 

I never fell. I never even tripped. I never felt weak or vulnerable. In fact, I felt strong, at peace, and more in control of my life than ever before. 

Strangely, I didn't get accepted into the Navy. And not because I was not qualified. The day before the submission deadline, the Navy's national medical board denied my request for a waiver for an unforeseen medical item 15 years earlier. My application never even made it to the board for review. Three months of searching, working, praying, following and more came to an abrupt dead end. Seems anti-climatic, huh? Emotionally, it was. 

Some may ask questions like, “Where was God when you needed Him?”or "Why would God lead you to a dead end?" or “What happened to your faith?” To that I simply say, “God and my faith were both there all along.” We may not understand all of God’s direction in our lives, but if we listen, our character, integrity and strength will grow beyond what we can measure or accomplish on our own. And really, isn't that what faith is truly all about?

During those three months I learned to trust and exercise patience in a way I had not before. Our willingness and humility deeply expanded to a point we did not realize we possessed. Most importantly, my wife and I grew closer together and to God. We depended on each other and God. Our love and lives became more fortified as we worked together. Prior fears were washed away, while hope filled our hearts and turned into faith.

At the end of Jonah's experience with Nineveh--when he actually went--he discovered that his fears were in vain. To his great surprise, the people listened, believed His words and repented. (Jonah 1 -3)

My point is that faith teaches us to move past our fears and recognize that we don't know everything--but God does. We cannot always be in control of the journey, but we can control our character while we travel. Faith gives us hope to reach further, try harder and do better. It makes us better people.

If you are struggling with your faith and sincerely looking for help, please share and read about other's experiences that may help you. Remember that a seed cannot grow into a tree over night and neither will your faith--you have to nourish it. We'll talk more on that later!

On that note, I leave you with this video about exercising faith even when we reach a dead end. I am sure that a lot of you have incredible experiences of faith to share. Watch this video and please share your thoughts, stories and comments below about faith. What is Faith? How do we build it? Why do we need it? How has it strengthened and blessed you or those you love or admire?

Wrong Roads: http://youtu.be/yNQC-_srxH8

 #thisweekinfaith #TWIF #faith