Faith Over Reason

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Hebrews 11:6

Author Marshall Shelley suffered the deaths of two of his children—and grew in faith. As a child reading novels, he learned not to be confused by the introduction of many different characters, events, and subplots in early chapters. He learned that, if the author was skilled, all the disparate parts would come together by the end of the book. Thus, he said about his life, “I choose to trust that before the book closes, the Author will make things clear.”

Who can understand the death of one child, much less two? How far can human reasoning go in explaining the facts, much less in healing the hurting heart? Because we possess strong minds, as those created in the image of God, our natural tendency is to seek solutions first in reason. But reason is not all the mind is good for. The spiritually minded have “the mind of Christ,” which is first and foremost a mind of faith (1 Corinthians 2:16). Our challenge in the spiritual life is to be faithful first and reasonable second.

The Author of the story of your life has a plot in progress that will leave no question unanswered.