Finding Faith in a Laundry Basket

Faith is an abiding confidence in things hoped for, and the certainty that such will happen even if we can't see it."

I can still picture myself standing on the edge of the pool with my mother, saying, "Jump, I'll catch you," during one of our many swimming lessons. Though I was still nervous, I was confident my mother would catch me because she said she would, and I trusted her because she always did.

Another time, a much older me, a college student, stood in my apartment, wondering, like many other poor college students, how I would make it until payday. The situation looked relatively bleak this time, and I knew I needed a financial miracle. I thought about what I could do to remedy the situation, but my resources were limited. I decided to release the problem, and asked God to provide however he chose to meet my needs for the next few days. Soon afterwards, while doing my laundry, I picked up a piece of clothing, and a ten-dollar bill was at the bottom of the basket. I knew it was not mine, but I was the only one there - it was nobody's. It was just enough to meet my needs.

The commonality in these experiences and so many more in life points to trusting God in those times that call for that jumping-off-the-side-of-the-pool kind of faith. Moments when petitions, desperate prayers, and deep, audible conversations on a long commute or just at the kitchen table or bedside are expressions of our confidence in our father. It's knowing that at such times, trusting may look like falling into His arms and being assured that He will catch us.

Times like this encourage and strengthen our faith.

God's word is filled with countless examples of people who exercised faith in God's plans.

Noah built an ark, though it had never rained.

Abraham left his pagan roots and believed God for a land He would give to him and his descendants. Even though he never actually saw the land, he believed God for it, and it happened.

Joseph believed in God through abandonment, slavery, and imprisonment, and became second in command in all of Egypt.

Moses renounced a life of royalty to lead the Israelites towards the promised land. God gave him a glimpse, though He never entered it.

The Israelites crossed the Red Sea on dry land with walls of water on either side to escape their enemies.

The Israelites marched around Jericho, and the walls fell.

Gideon quit hiding and became a fearless warrior, and David, a mere shepherd boy, became the most notable King of Israel.

Friends, faith matters. Relinquishing the death grip on weighty matters in life requires letting go. If you have enough trust to do this, who knows what will turn up in your laundry basket?

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

Hebrews 1:1

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