Hi Friends,
At this week’s Coffee with the Pastor, we got onto the topic of wavering faith, and we returned to Wesley’s own hesitation with his faith. You’ll recall that in last Sunday’s sermon Charlie included an encounter between John Wesley and Moravian missionary Peter Böhler in which Wesley asked, “How can you preach to others if you don’t have faith yourself?” Böhler answered, “Preach faith till you have it; and then, because you have it, you will preach faith.”
Is that not a testament to the steadfast love and constant presence of God’s grace in our life? There will be times in our lives where our faith is shaken. What we do in those times of shakiness does not change the fact that we have a God that will never leave us nor forsake us, that yearns for us to respond to God’s loving embrace.
You may be sitting here at your computer wondering if you even have faith in the first place. My encouragement to you is the same as Böhler’s was to Wesley. Continue to build habits of spiritual discipline that might illumine God’s movement in your own life. Search the Scriptures. The Bible is the living Word of God, and every time we read, we are inspired by the Holy Spirit to know who God is through Jesus. Pray, partake in the Lord’s Supper, fast, gather together with those of the faith, continue to attend to the Means of Grace that will breathe life into your faith journey. Then, continue those practices because these disciplines are a response to God’s grace in our lives. This is how we continue to grow in holiness.
This is not a “how-to” manual with clear-cut directions. This is not a magical fix to gain faith. This is a commitment to continue on the path of faith even when things get hard. What I might add, to Böhler and Wesley’s conversation for the present is that you also have a church community that will accompany you on your journey.
As we work through this Wesleyan Rooted study, I hope you are encouraged to know that all of the work we do, we do together. May that hope carry with you into the next week.
With Love and Peace,
Pastor Rachel
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