A term that has become a bit of a cultural buzzword is “sustainability.” In fact, there is a School of Sustainability at Arizona State University. You can earn a bachelor’s or even a master’s degree in the field. Our culture’s idea of sustainability involves identifying ways to reduce current harmful effects that may compromise future generations. That doesn’t seem like such a bad idea. I’m all for reducing and recycling waste for the benefit of my grandchildren. However, there is a kind of sustainability that’s exponentially more important than disposing of a water bottle in the blue bin. It is the sustainability of our faith.
When Christians talk about assurance of faith it tends to focus on the end result. From that 30,000-foot level you can have certainty that “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6). Also, that “We are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is” (1 Jn. 3:2).
Undeniably, there is great comfort in knowing we will be victorious at the day of Jesus Christ. There is inexpressible joy in the guarantee that when the Savior appears we shall be like Him. But between today and either the return of the Messiah or our death, there is a Christian life to live. There is legitimate, ongoing strain put on our faith. There are challenges, heartbreak, persecution, expected and unexpected deaths, a zig when you were entirely convinced there would be a zag. What assurance is there right now—today? Where does the Christian go who is in search of sustainability that will preserve and maintain their faith?
Praise God that we can go to the fountain of truth, God’s very word. He tells us that we not only know what happens at the finish line, God assures us that He is with us at every step (and misstep) along the way. Paul wrote a letter to the believers at the church in Corinth, a church that had more problems than you could shake a stick at. In that letter he wrote the following:
I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge—even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you—so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Cor. 1:4–9)
This was an exceedingly flawed group of Christians and yet Paul described them as “enriched.” He confirmed that as they wait, the “testimony of Christ was confirmed among [them].” He noted that they were not lacking any gift and then assured them that Jesus Christ will SUSTAIN them when they will be found guiltless at the end, “the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” God does not just promise a bouquet at the end of the race, He ensures that we will make it through today, and through tomorrow, and next week and through all the calendar pages that lie ahead.
The psalmist reassures us that He will sustain His children at both ends of the spectrum—when we are asleep and when we on high alert while surrounded by enemies. “I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me. I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around” (Ps. 3:5-6).
The only legitimate response to this is to cry out to God in gratefulness. You need not wonder if you will make it through the day. You will! Though the tempest swirls around you, you are grounded on the rock-solid foundation of the one, true and living God! If focusing on the end is just too big of a task, instead follow the instruction of this psalm:
Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved. (Ps. 55:22)