Trust is Stronger Than Belief and Deeper than Faith

June 16, 2017

Day 164:  Faith Based Medicine:
"Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence we cannot see." —Hebrews 11:1

The point of Anderson's lesson today is that though we trust our doctors and they in turn trust their training and various clinical studies, the only one we can really 100% trust is the Great Physician. "So why don't we put our trust and faith in the good doctor [God] who guarantees his treatment is 100% effective every time? Anderson says that some people say it's because "we can't see him." He believes that to be a problem because "we place our faith and trust in things we can't see all the time." For Anderson "there is enough evidence that God keeps his promises that [he] will fully trust [in God] until the day that [he dies].  He has "faith in his faithfulness."

When I looked up the differences between faith, belief, and trust the same story was shared by several authors. Each one focused on a gentleman by the name of Charles Blodin, who was a tightrope performer in the 1800s. Mara Shapshay in a blog entry stated that "Blodin was great at wowing the crowds with suspense and thrills. ...One time he carried his manager on his back" as he walked a tightrope over Niagara Falls. Shapshay notes that "In one show he asked the audience if they would be interested in seeing him push a wheelbarrow over the tightrope. The audience screamed out, 'Yes.'
The crowd had faith that he could push a wheelbarrow across the tightrope because they had seen him do many stunts before. But when Blondin asked if anyone would be interested in getting in the wheelbarrow, the response was a unanimous, 'No!'" The crowd's response is not surprising, but Shapshay uses the anecdote to exemplify that "we have faith that there is a higher power out there. We believe in that power. But how many of us really trust that higher power enough to get into that wheelbarrow?"

Though at times I may doubt and my faith may waver, my trust in the Lord remains.  I am still willing to get into the wheelbarrow. My trust is what keeps me moving forward.