Faith in Uncertain Times

I am not a financial expert, but happened to be watching CNBC the other day and they were discussing the stock markets and an index they called the VIX.  The VIX is a volatility index, as I understand it in layman’s terms, a measurement of how far and wide the swings in stock prices go. The wider the swings the greater the index. Well, according to the people at CNBC we have set all time highs in the VIX. The commentator called it the measure of how afraid investors are in these uncertain times. We have seen the market swing 400-600 points in a matter of a few hours.

Now certainly we are in very uncertain days. Our economy, is it going up, down, are we in recession, are we just having a blip on the radar?  Our election, who is going to be the next president?  Probably depends on who you listened to this morning and which poll you actually believe. Your mortgage, can you pay it,and are the interest rates going up or down. Can you get a loan? How much longer is the war going to continue? Is your company going to lay people off?  There is no clear picture of our future as a nation. Everyone from the candidates to the talking heads on TV to the guy in the next cubicle has an idea, but we have to admit, things are very uncertain.

Aside from our oldest two generations, we have not really seen uncertain times. Our oldest generations lived through World War II, a time of great upheaval and uncertainty. That event literally changed the landscape of the world and set in motion fifty years of cold war and tension. The last real shake-up we had in America came in the late 1960’s when we had a social revolution among the younger generations. Now we have had a few fluctuations since then, but nothing that would be considered life altering, world changing. Now however, we find ourselves in a post 9/11 world, in a worldwide time of financial crisis, political uncertainty and social/moral confusion.  What do we do with uncertain times?

The contrast we make to uncertainty is stability, a known commodity that even if we don’t like the way things are, at least we know what is going on. As I have thought about not only the difficulties I find myself in with a house to pay for that I am not living in, financial uncertainty, two foster kids who may or many not be with us on a permanent basis… I do not know stability right now. But we cannot confuse stability with faith. Faith is not the same as having things go smoothly and knowing where we are going at every turn. Christians who wish to live a life of faith, should not expect God to reveal all of His plans and His ways before we trust in Him. In fact, if we are waiting for stability in order to have faith and feel comfortable with life, then we are not really expressing faith at all. Faith in fact is simply the ability to believe beyond and above what we see.

Whether we realize it or not, everyday, no matter how much you believe you know what it will hold, is a day where we must express faith. Take a quick look at the definition of faith…

Heb 11 1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

So when the markets are crazy, the job is unstable, the bank account has fewer numbers to the left of the dot and our doctor has given us bad news… Faith is certain of what we hope for. So when we believe that we have it all together, things are going well, our 401k is growing and we have lost those extra pounds… Faith does not change. Our faith is not tied to our circumstances. Underline that, remember that and practice that. We live out our faith in our circumstances not a faith driven by our circumstances. If we are going to live a Christian life that is led by a God who is not subject to the change of the winds of the times, then our faith has to be steadily anchored in the One we hope in, not to sights and sounds of the day. Bad news, good news, the world swings and sways under the influence of the evil one, but remember the Bible tells us that the “just shall live by faith” (that is our hope will be in God) “and not by sight” (the whims and waves of things in the world).

For example, hand wringing and worry seem to be seen as a sign of spirituality today. Several (many) Christians are “concerned” about this election. “I don’t know what we are going to do if _________ (whichever candidate you don’t like) gets elected”… why don’t you know?  If your faith is tied to the political swings of today, then your hope is not in a God who is never changing. Worry about the election seems to have taken on epic proportions, yet where is our faith in a God. Romans 13:1 says that no authority exists except that God appoints it.  So if I worry and complain and whine about so and so’ policies and stances, does that make me closer to God, a better Christian, more pleasing to the one who died for me?  No matter who is elected, you should worship just as passionately, pray just as unceasingly, minister to the needy just as compassionately and share Christ with others just as regularly.  Now do not misunderstand me here. I believe in voting, and I will vote in this election, but I will not allow the flood of political discourse and argument over policies affect how much I love and believe that God is the source of my strength and my hope forever. We need to allow the Holy Spirit and the Holy Scriptures to inform our hearts first, not the latest CNN piece.

“I don’t know what I am going to do about my finances, times are really tight.”  The future of your finances… is it in the hands of Wall Street and your mortgage company or does your faith see beyond these things?  Is your faith in the fact that your bank account has plenty of money or is it in the fact that God is your provider?  Look at what God taught Paul about faith in Philippians 4…

11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength. 14 Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. 15 Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; 16 for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need. 17 Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account. 18 I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. 19 And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

Paul learned to be content. You cannot learn contentment and faith if everything is always amply supplied to you and everything is going your way. Rather than hand wringing and worry, if you are a Christian today, you should be in a learning mode. “God teach me to rest in you. Teach my heart to have more faith in you than worry about what I see. God show me your truth and help my heart to dwell upon your faithfulness not in man’s uncertainty.”

It is in uncertain times that what is truly within us rises to the top. Being from Florida, the expression is “you only taste the juice when you squeeze the orange.”  Friends, the VIX is high and we are in a time of squeezing. Now is not the time to shrink into worry and doubt. Take a look at your life and see what is coming out. What are your conversations like?  What are you spending time thinking about?  What have you stopped or started doing recently?  What do these things reveal about your faith?  Let’s live a PlusLIfe, an abundant life. When we are able to rise above the day and live in faith, then we give the world something to look to, something to believe in, that there is something beyond just this world and its’ ways. No more hand wringing- pray and believe that God is God, learn and grow in your understanding of God’s character and love, speak and share the power and faithfulness of our Heavenly Father.