As part of moving, we took an inventory of our furniture. We have a reasonable number plates, a ridiculous number of coffee mugs, and a plethora of chairs. My count started at 18, then I remembered a few more (including the one I’m sitting on!) and the count rose to 21. I don’t even want to think about how many folding chairs are in the closet. Why do we have so many chairs? Because I love for people to have a place to rest while we chat. Imagine, though, if someone came over and I had to tell them, “Sorry, you can’t sit on that or it will collapse.” A chair can look really, really good, but it’s basically worthless if no one can sit on it.
I’d like to suggest that our faith can be compared to a chair. It offers us a place to rest all our weight. When difficult circumstances arise, faith allows us the opportunity to “take a load off” by letting us put the weight of our troubles and anxieties onto God’s sufficiency to meet our need and His loving concern for our well-being. He means what He says in Isaiah, “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my victorious right hand” (41:10).
It’s also possible to have something that looks like a really great “faith chair” but can’t even hold a feather. Jesus describes this in terms of seeds and crops when He says, “their roots don’t go very deep. At first they get along fine, but they wilt as soon as they have problems” (Matthew 13:20-21). When challenges arise, that kind of faith doesn’t offer any support. Instead we look for help from other sources, for other saviors to rescue us.
It’s a fallacy to think that once we come to Christ, we won’t have any problems. Jesus flat out said, “In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33). There will be trouble from within and challenges from without. What He’s doing is remaking us into His image. There will be times when we’ll agree that the changes He insists on making must be done, and other times when we won’t want to let go of doing things our own way. There will be a thousand petty annoyances that are a part of life in a world under a curse. It’s hard work to tear our gaze away from the here-and-now that clamors for our attention and lift our eyes to the promise of a world made new and set right. And there’s an enemy intent on tripping us up or diverting our course at every opportunity. All of that adds up to a whole lot of trouble.
I have good news. We don’t have to carry all that. Jesus offers us a place to take a load off. He says, Come to me if you’re weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28). Faith is the chair that allows us to rest on Jesus. In the beginning, we might tend to sit on the edge of the seat, waiting to see if the chair will fold under us, if all of God’s promises will collapse like toothpicks. But the more we turn to Him as our only true Helper, the more we ease the weight off our own feet and onto Him, the better. There is nothing He can’t do for you. No good thing will He withhold from you.
There is no one like the God of Israel. He rides across the heavens to help you, across the skies in majestic splendor. The eternal God is your refuge, and his everlasting arms are under you. Deuteronomy 33:27