‘In tents faith’
by Pastor Tim Castle-Schmidt
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By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise (Hebrews 11:9).
Would you be happy living in a tent when you knew you had an enormous inheritance? An inheritance that could allow you to live out your days comfortably?
Because that is what Abraham had: faith to live in a tent despite the promise of a nation for his heirs. He had ‘in tents faith’. And yet, it wasn’t his faith through which the promise was fulfilled, but the faithfulness of Yahweh, the promise-giver.
Living in a tent is itself a bit of an act of faith. You have to trust that you won’t get wet, blown away or devoured by the local wildlife. And I suspect that’s part of the attraction of camping; you have to trust that you’ll cope, and that can be intense.
And so, when we are faced with a disruptive event, we are invited to have Abraham’s ‘in tents faith’. Faith to live in a tent when we have the promise of a castle. And that’s not so bad. Abraham and Sarah never entered the Promised Land, and yet their living by faith – intense faith – gave them the energy and connection with reality that was needed for them at that moment.
Lord God, the one who chose Abraham, enliven us with the faith to hang on in the face of adversity, knowing that you promise to be with us through it all. Amen.
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