Between Faith and Panic

There is nothing admirable about panic. I'm not talking about the unpleasant panic attacks that some people endure. I'm talking about not knowing what is ahead in the journey, and the resulting feeling that I ought to "do something". I'm talking about times when the supports that propped you up have been kicked out and you wonder how you are going to stand. You've looked at all of the possible choices, and none of them are good. And so you panic. You wonder if you should choose another path. Perhaps you can head off the potential disaster that looms ahead. Maybe you can make a new decision that will at least offer you the opportunity to know where you're going to land. You start talking to friends that you feel will support you as you make a sudden change. What a difference it would be, if you could face the dilemma with faith. Faith trusts. Faith believes. Faith rests assured in God's hands. Faith knows that whatever is around the corner, God's provision will be sufficient. Faith repels fear. Faith only asks if we are following God's revealed will ... trusting in His sovereign power. I live somewhere between faith and panic. I often feel on the verge of feeling that I must make some significant changes now or else the window of opportunity will have passed. Then I remember how faithful Abba has been to me all of my life. For a time my fears are quieted ... until pragmatism takes over and I begin to wonder what I can do to shape my future. It seems to me that Abraham lived between faith and panic. He lied about Sarai's identity ... twice ... in order to fix a situation that could have been bad. He created a child with Hagar, intending to provide God with a solution to the problem of answering a promise that was becoming unanswerable. But he was the father of the faithful ... and he did leave Ur with no roadmap. Maybe we all live between faith and panic ... but I pray that we will lean more toward faith. May we depend more upon God as He proves himself over and over.