Pastor’s Corner: “Duct Tape Faith”
Hebrews 11:1 (AMP) – Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses].
I am an amateur (emphasis on amateur) home workshop enthusiast. I find there are three items that are indispensable to a complete workshop: Duct tape, zip ties and WD-40 (I suppose I should add bungee cords, as well). But the most versatile of the four is duct tape. You can use it for almost anything.
In 1942 the US military needed a way to keep moisture out of ammunition casings and hired Johnson & Johnson Co. to solve this problem. Soldiers soon realized it could be used to fix guns, vehicles and even airplanes! Today duct tape is a house hold product that is used to fix everything.
Years ago I was eating in a diner where I saw a big construction worker with this slogan on his sweatshirt, “WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH THE TOUGH USE DUCT TAPE.” I learned early on in life the many virtues of duct tape. That’s something my dad taught me. It’s amazing how much can be fixed with it. I’ve even seen well-worn Bibles covers that Christians refuse to part with bound together with duct tape! What makes duct tape even more fun are all the colors it comes in. I was in a store the other day and I found Hello Kitty Duct Tape, cheetah print duct tape, neon colored duct tape, and of course the standard grey duct tape.
Have you ever considered our faith is a lot like Duct Tape? It’s an all-purpose product used to hold us together, patch things that are broken and seal out harmful elements. In the same way, faith holds our lives together. Faith is the basis of our relationship with God. It is believing what the Bible says no matter what it looks like around you. Faith keeps you together when you feel you’re falling apart. Our faith keeps us going and assures us we will make it regardless of what is going on around us. Hebrews 11:6 (TPT) – 6 And without faith living within us it would be impossible to please God. For we come to God in faith knowing that he is real and that he rewards the faith of those who passionately seek him.
There are three things that faith and duct tape have in common. #1 It’s all Purpose: Faith, like duct tape can be used in a variety of situations. You might be facing a problem. You can whip out your roll of faith and patch together that bad situation with what the Bible says. Faith can be used at any time and in any situation. Faith in God is always the answer to whatever situation you’re facing.
#2 It’s not always pretty: Faith is not something we see. It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. Hebrews 11:1 (NLT) – It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see. It’s choosing to believe no matter what it looks like around us. When you tape something up it’s not going to look like it’s brand new but it will be fixed up, it will hold together. It is trusting God will hold our lives together no matter what it looks like.
#3 It gets the job done: Faith is like duct tape because you can rely on it. You know that when you need a patch or to hold something together you can trust the duct tape to do its job. People will fail you, but God never does. We have to trust what the bible says about our situations no matter what we think is going to happen. Duct tape holds things together that we think are falling apart.
Faith is trusting that God is going to go to bat for you. HE IS FOR YOU! He’s going to provide for you no matter what you’re facing. Faith is just choosing to believe what God says in spite of what you see or feel around you and relying on God in every situation that comes to you. We need sticky faith. Faith in God will hold our lives together. When situations look hopeless, wrap it in duct tape like faith knowing God will keep it all together!
In His Grace,
Pastor Hamilton