An “even though” faith …

The fullness of life Jesus came to provide us isn’t dependent on smooth and easy-going circumstances but on having a “even though” faith.

In fact, Jesus told us bluntly that life isn’t going to be smooth sailing:

“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows …” John 16:33a.

But note how Jesus completes this statement by pointing us toward an “even though” faith — that “even though” here on earth we’ll have many trials and sorrows …

“… But take heart, because I have overcome the world,” John 16:33b.

Developing an “even though” faith teaches us to be resilient in difficult times rather than complainers. Eric Greitens, in his book, “Resilience: Hard-Won Wisdom for Living a Better Life,” notes the following:

“Many of life’s annoyances just have to be ignored. That doesn’t mean that we suppress, ignore, or deny every pain. Serious pain has to be confronted. But one mark of resilience is learning to tell which pain deserves our attention. Paying attention to every pain, all the time, doesn’t lead to resilience. It usually just leads to whining.”

Not only did Jesus warn us that hard times will come, He also told us how we can endure them:

“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash,” Matthew 7:24-27.

An “even though” faith says:

Even though the trials come …

Even though the sorrows come …

Even though the storms come …

Even though the floods come …

Even though the troubles, and difficulties, and even tragedies come …

… Jesus Christ has overcome the world, and as long as our lives are built upon Him as our Rock, then we can take heart because we will also overcome through Him.

In fact, the more difficulties we endure through Christ, the more steadfast we become in Him. It’s much like the story told by Pastor A. Parnell Bailey who visited an orange grove where an irrigation pump had broken down. The season was unusually dry and some of the trees were beginning to die for lack of water. The man giving the tour then took Bailey to his own orchard where irrigation was used sparingly.

“These trees could go without rain for another 2 weeks,” he said. “You see, when they were young, I frequently kept water from them. This hardship caused them to send their roots deeper into the soil in search of moisture. Now mine are the deepest-rooted trees in the area. While others are being scorched by the sun, these are finding moisture at a greater depth.”

The Apostle Paul described this growing resilience through an “even though” faith like this:

“Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness,” Colossians 2:7.

“I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God,” Ephesians 3:16-19.

King David wrote in Psalm 23 that having an “even though” faith can see us through life’s most difficult moments:

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; your rod and Your staff, they comfort me,” Psalm 23:4 (NASB).

It can be easy to give in to the temptation of feeling overwhelmed by life, but that changes with an “even though” faith because we acknowledge the reality of the problem (“even though ____”), and then trust in Christ as our source for overcoming.

Are you living out an “even though” faith, or are you looking at the problems and allowing yourself to be overcome by them?

Scotty