What Does It Mean to Have a ‘SIMPLE FAITH’?

You don’t have to look very far in today’s world to find complexity. Technology is taking society through faster and faster cycles. But where are those faster cycles taking us? According to a Wall Street Journal report, anxiety has overtaken depression as the leading mental health problem in the United States. Anxiety fighting drugs are now the top-selling pharmaceutical products. Even with a booming economy and political stability, worry and apprehension remain part of our human condition - one that can never be adequately relieved by a pill. 

There is a growing movement in our culture away from a ‘hyper-drive’ lifestyle towards something simpler. People are searching for a way to make sense of life. 

There IS a place that may be found in this search that offers a peace and calmness that has been known to be overpowering in its simplicity and beauty. It is to experience a life lived under the care and direction of a loving God. The Bible teaches that God is most often found in the quietest of places. The prophet Elijah on Mt Horeb was anticipating an encounter with God. But the Lord passed by not in great wind, earthquake or fire, but as the NRSV translates it, in the “sound of sheer silence”. 

A simple faith is to encounter and remain in the presence of the God who provides the “peace that passes understanding”. 

Phil 4:6-7: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. NIV 

According to historical sources, Paul wrote this passage while he was sitting in a prison cell because he was teaching others about Jesus. Paul, who was under such trying circumstances and yet could still know and experience great joy and peace, shows us the recipe that society needs today: a simple and sincere relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

When David wrote Psalm 55, his life was caught up in the same types of situations we struggle with today: He recoiled in horror from the violence, anger, and abuse that stalked the city streets (vv.9-11). He suffered the anguish of being betrayed by a close friend (vv.12-14). He longed to leave and escape to a place of peace (vv.4-8). Because David's anxious pain mirrors our own, his prescription for relief can be ours as well. He wrote…"I will call upon God, and the Lord shall save me. ... Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you" (Psalm 55:16,22)

Anxiety is a burden we are not called to bear. Instead, we are to lay our concerns on Christ because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). If your heart is weighed down today, the Lord is ready to bear every burden you give Him. Simple faith in the Lord is what we believe is the best anecdote to a difficult and complicated world.