I was thinking about faith the other day and trying to come up with a good example of unstoppable, unshakable, undeniable faith that would really get across the point of what faith is.
Now we all know that Hebrews 11:1 tells us "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." But so many people still don't get it. They may say they have faith, but they allow doubt to enter in. They will say they believe God will answer their prayers, yet they struggle daily trying to make a situation work instead of waiting on the will of God.
Faith must be firm. You cannot allow doubts to creep in. You have to not only believe, but KNOW that God will provide a way. It is the calm acceptance that you have given it to the Lord and He will follow through. You place it in His hands, then walk away knowing it is taken care of.
As I was thinking of faith this morning, I realized that a common house cat is the best example of faith. Having been a cat-mom for 17 years to K.C (it stood for Kitty Cat)., I have seen many examples of faith through her sweet eyes.
When we picked her out at the pound, barely 6 weeks old, all the other kittens were playing and bouncing around. Scratching and clawing for attention. K.C. sat humbly in the back corner of the cage; cowering and unloved. It was apparent that she was afraid. Then it happened. Those sweet little eyes looked in mine and they were filled with such hope that I just knew I had to take her home with me.
That precious little kitten stuck to me like glue. We had such a special bond that she did not share with anybody else. Every night, she would watch my moves as I bathed, ate supper, cleaned up and got ready to settle in for the night. The minute I would relax on the couch, she would jump immediately on my lap and settle in and sleep until bedtime.
She never once doubted that she was welcome there. She never once hesitated or acted reserved. She knew I loved her and knew that my arms were always open for her.
How many times have troubles burdened you down and you felt like you had nowhere to turn. It is sad that we cannot all have a cat-like faith. God's arms are always open; His lap is always available to us. Yet, we do not take that leap to trust Him enough to go to Him for our needs.
K.C. had utter faith in me. She new she could always come to me. She knew I protected her. She knew I would always provide a warm home; a safe haven. Her every need was taken care of. She always had food and water and never did without anything. I would sit and hold her and snuggle with her, rubbing her head. Even in the end, when her kidneys started to fail, she exhibited strong faith. Her eyes would look at me and I could tell she was in pain and it was like she was asking me to fix it. After her last vet visit, when he told me there was nothing they could do for her, she still trusted me to make a decision on what was best for her. When I took her back to the vet so they could put her to sleep, I knew in her last moments that she still had faith that I was taking care of her. She never took well to strangers and never had anything to do with men. Yet, when I placed her in the vets arms to leave her, she snuggled in his arms and looked at me and purred as if she was letting me know one last time that I knew what was best and she had faith that I was doing what was needed.
We could all take lessons from cats. They know their master and they don't worry about anything. They have 100% faith that we will come through for them. In her 17 years of live, that precious, sweet cat showed me what true faith and trust was. We need to develop that mindset with God. We need to walk into His open arms and let Him handle things. Once we give it over to Him, we need to know, with faith believing, that He will provide a way.
