A Collapsing Bridge and A Collapsing Faith

Two events occured today that may at first seem totally unrelated but upon closer reflection they are not that dissimilar. The first happened during Bible study tonight around 8:00, one of the older men of the congregation made a statement that caused everyone who heard it to be grieved for spiritual state of the person he was talking about.

Brad had been talking about God's call on our life. The Scripture was taken from Isaiah ch.6. When he got to the verse where Isaiah is overwhelmed with the vision of God and he says  "Woe is me! For I am undone; for I am a man of unclean lips,... for my eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of Hosts.", the older man in our Bible study says "you can repent but your guilt never leaves you, you live with it all your life."

I say we were all grieved because we could all hear the anguish in this man's voice. This man who has served the Lord for so many years. This Christian who knows that the Lord doesn't condemn us but forgives us freely and sets us free from the guilt of our past. This man was having a faith crisis. He knew all the answers in his head but he wouldn't accept them for himself.

While his faith was collapsing, at the same time in nearby Tusket a one hundred year old bridge collapsed because of a swollen river. This part of Nova Scotia has had over 100 mm of rain in the last 3 days! The bridge is only one of two ways into Yarmouth for many communities, such as Sluice Point and Amirault's Hill and it has been standing through all kinds of weather all these years. But tonight it collapsed.

I'm sure in it's 100 yrs this bridge has seen its share of bad weather, flooded rivers and storms. But tonight it collapsed. I'm sure too that this man in our Bible study had seen his share of storms too that have challenged his faith over the years, but tonight his faith met its breaking point. Both the bridge and the man were in crisis. Both are sad situations and both affected everyone around them. Traffic will have to be rerouted because of the bridge and tonight a brand new Christian who was sitting listening to this man, was shaken and questioned whether or not her sins were actually forgiven by God.

I want to share a few scriptures with you to encourage you. Maybe you are facing a faith crisis. Maybe you feel as if you are going to collapse. You don't have to. There is help, if you turn to God and allow Him to minister to you.



Isa 55:6-13Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.  Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Rom 8:38-39For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.