O For a Faith That Will Not Shrink

O, for a faith that will not shrink, Though pressed by every foe,
That will not tremble on the brink of any earthly woe!

That will not murmur nor complain beneath the chastening rod,
But, in the hour of grief or pain, will lean upon its God.

A faith that shines more bright and clear when tempests rage without;
That when in danger knows no fear, in darkness feels no doubt.

That bears, unmoved, the world’s dread frown nor heeds its scornful smile;
That seas of trouble cannot drown, nor Satan’s arts beguile.

A faith that keeps the narrow way till life’s last hour is fled,
And with a pure and heavenly ray lights up a dying bed.

Lord, give me such a faith as this, And then, whatever may come,
I’ll taste, even here, the hallowed bliss of an eternal home.

This hymn, although not one familiar to me, is in a couple of hymnals and hymn devotion books that I have.  It is an old hymn (written in 1831), but its words are just as powerful today.  The hymn is a prayer for a strong faith, an enduring faith, a faith that will not be tossed to and fro, but a faith that knows God is in control no matter what the circumstances.

I like these following phrases in the hymn:

• “will not murmur or complain beneath the chastening rod” – Isn’t this hard to do?  Sometimes, I think about myself and say “I’m not a complainer,” but then I am reminded by the Lord that “I am a murmurer.”  I may not whine about stuff so that everyone hears my problems, but I do complain under my breath sometimes.  The Bible says in Proverbs 3:12 “For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.”  If we know that the Lord loves us and will discipline us to make us better, our response to that discipline should not include complaining or murmuring. 

• “seas of trouble cannot drown”  – I get a mental picture of someone treading water in the ocean.  The ocean is vast and deep, but if the person has the strength to tread water, the ocean cannot overtake them.  The same is true with our problems.  We can be surrounded by a sea of trouble, but with God’s help, we can tread water and endure.  The water cannot overtake us and cannot drown us.

• “in danger knows no fear, in darkness feels no doubt” – I  am reminded of the story of Jairus and his daughter found in Mark 5.   Jairus believed that Jesus could heal his daughter (His statement was“My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.”)  But before Jesus could get to Jairus home, word came that Jairus’ daughter had passed away.  Jesus tells Jairus “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”  It had to be a “dark” moment when the men came to tell Jairus his daughter was dead.  But Jesus’ plans were bigger.  He told him to believe and not be afraid.  I pray that I can have that same kind of deep faith.

Have you ever read the tag in your clothes that tell you how to wash them?  If you are like me, you don’t have time for that.  Washing clothes is not that difficult, right?  I just toss everything in the washer and pray for the best.  However, the washing instructions on a garment’s tag give us lots of insight on how to handle a particular garment.  The phrase “O for a faith that will not shrink” in this hymn made me think about washing clothes, and caused me to ask myself what kind of faith do I have. 

• Does the tag on my “faith garment” say “Handle with Care – Gentle cycle?”  Is my faith so fragile that I am discouraged by even minor events that come into my life?  Does a rude person that pulls out in front of me on the interstate ruin my entire day?

• Does my tag say “Wash separately?”  Am I a person that can’t stand to be around other people that have different points of view?  Do I have to go a church where everyone looks and dresses the same, or all be middle-class people for me to feel comfortable?

• Does my tag say “Delicate – wash in cold water only?”  Am I a person that can only handle “cool, refreshing water” and the easy things of life?  Do I seek comfort and refreshing over growing in the Lord?

• Or does my tag say “Wash in Hot water?”  I hope that my faith will not “shrink” under the “hot water” of life’s tests and trials.  I pray that God can count on me to trust Him no matter what.  I hope I have a faith that can handle going through tough situations with the Lord’s help, and come out better on the other side.  

So do a little introspection today and ask yourself some tough questions.  What does the tag on your “faith garment” say?  Do you need some fabric “softener” in your life?  How about some “bleach” to remove dirt or stains?  Does your life need some “Cheer?”  How are you enduring the “Tide” of life?  Have you made Jesus your “All?”  Pray for a Faith that will not shrink….(and be thankful the laundry is done at your house this week.  I sure am.)