Neither In Nor Out is Just Stuck in the Middle

     I was taking advantage of a light schedule and the beautiful spring weather yesterday by changing the oil in my truck, doing some planting and pruning, and eventually mowing the grass. You know when you're busy time sure seems to get away from you! Well that's exactly what happened as my afternoon was quickly creeping away and the backyard was still lying out there needing to be mowed before Sunday's weather forecast delivered it's rain showers. As I was finishing up the front yard, my eagerness to take as few swoops as possible on the back and forth pattern landed me in a little bit of a predicament. It appeared to me that the last swath of grass could be taken down with one final pass, but as I started down the line it quickly became obvious that the stretch of grass was wider than my mower's blade width. Problem was I had it in my head that I could somehow make this work. Much to my chagrin, what ended up happening was two small lines of grass remained, one on each side of the mower as my failed attempt to run down the middle unfolded. What I had envisioned as one last passing, created two additional turns. As my mind works, this little visual provided me with the impetus for today's Flat Tire Ministries Thought. Being in the middle is not the place you want to be found in most situations and definitely in our faith.
     Standing on a fence post you find yourself neither on the right side or the left side of the fence, you my friend are right in the middle. Believing in God and following God are two different sides of the fence. The Bible is quick to point this out "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder." James 2:19. So if believing there is a God is one side of the faith fence, what does the other side look like? To me it's all about trust and hope. If we trust that God has a plan for our lives then our faith will play out completely different. In our struggles, when we face adversity or afflictions this is where our faith begins to display itself. When you have a firm foundation cast in faith, you will trust that everything that happens, happens for a reason bigger than ourselves or our ways of thinking. When our trust is fortified and tested the end result is an undying hope that whatever the purpose of the events in our life is, it is meant to be of a benefit for myself or for the benefit of someone else I may or may not even know. That is hope in action. Jesus spoke of this type of hope in the parable of the house built on the firm foundation. "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" Matthew 24-27. This is why so many people collapse when calamity visits, there is no hope to be found in just believing that there is a God, you must have faith and that faith can only come through trusting that God is in control, and then moving forward with the hope that the outcome of whatever you are facing is going to be exactly what is supposed to happen. 
     Standing on the fence post or mowing the grass down the middle isn't the answer and won't get the job done, we must make a commitment to trust in God or to trust in man or self. It may be my opinion, but I just don't think that's the way to peace or progress in your life. As a matter of fact the Bible actually speaks about those that are stuck in the middle of their walk of faith in Revelation 3:15-16 "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!  So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth." That doesn't have to be the case for you or I. We don't have to face life alone, we don't have to walk in the middle of the road, that's where you will get ran over! No, if you have faith it will also have works. Faith alone without works is dead, that is what is found preceding the scripture in the same chapter of James that was referenced earlier in this post about faith. James 2:14-18.
Trust, builds hope, and hope builds faith, and faith will carry you through whatever life throws your way! Believe and proceed! 
Coach Carter