Hebrews 12:2 "Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross despising the shame."

This is a study of Paul’s shipwreck. Though we call it, "his" it is important to note that it was not his ship. He was not the captain. He had no control over the destination or the path to that destination. Yet in the midst of the ships impending destruction he stood and said, "Be of good cheer!" How could he possibly say that? (The above verse gives us a clue.)

I look forward to sharing with you this series on trusting God even when it means yielding to another’s choices, or worse yet - the unknown. Sometimes God allows us to go through certain things, so that we can then help others who may be in the same situation.

Foundations: Before we go any further...Let us take time to dig deep into the riches of some key words in the verse below taken from Hebrews.

"Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross despising the shame."
Hebrews 12:2

Looking - or "aph-or-a-o" (in the original Greek) [the prefix "apo"] means, "To look away from (something near)" - and ["or-ah’-o"] means "to stare at, to discern clearly, to attend to" 1

Putting together the translation is "To look away from one thing so as to see another (thing/person), (then) to concentrate the gaze upon" (that other thing/person).

First, we must look away from the storm, the people, the circumstances then we must concentrate our gaze, our focus unto Jesus.

In the midst of the most intense storm of my life, where I had no control over circumstances, people or the storms of life about me, I experienced intense emotional pain. In my heart, I knew God was good, but in my emotions, I could not understand "why."

The Lord brought to my mind a story Dr. Dobson told of taking his son to the doctor. His son had an extremely infected ear that, upon examination was threatening to rupture his eardrum. The only solution was for the doctor to puncture his son’s eardrum to prevent painful rupture. Dr. Dobson shared the agony of his heart as he held his crying and fearful son. When his eyes met the teary questioning pain-filled gaze of his son, Dr. Dobson realized the loving agony of our Father God’s heart towards us in our pain. Just as he met the gaze of his son, so too does our Heavenly Father allow us to gaze into His eyes. He does not turn away, but joins with us in our pain.

Instead of asking "why," I chose to gaze into God’s eyes trusting in His love and in His promise that He knew "the plans He had for me," "not to harm me" but to "give me a future and a hope" (Jeremiah 29:11). Job came to mind also at this time. My fiery trials were nothing compared to his.

To prayerfully encourage each of you, following is a shortened list of my own recent trials, which work at maturing my faith through God’s grace.

• In 1997, Mama (grandma) passed away in my parent’s home, where my dear grandma’s bed was burned down 5 weeks later.
• Emotional Loss: Trigger of old losses (death of brother and sisters).
• In 1998, (Emotional fears - who is real around here?) Brought on by dear friends, fellow laborers in church leadership whose marriage was destroyed by adultery.
• In 1999, my brother-in-law’s marriage fell apart, his wife to lesbianism, he to homosexuality, my father-in-law had a stroke, and my mother-in-law had a mental breakdown. All in the family were believers. This resulted with my husband’s heartache and my heartache in missing him, (caused such a relational strain - I had to learn I could not take my husband’s "fire" - it was his test to bear).
• Another church issue arose with differing convictions causing more relational/emotional strain.
• An employee of my husband’s fell off a roof, leaving us with 10K$ OSHA fine.
• Relational strain in youth group where my own children were a part (I had difficulty with the leader - God kept showing me my sinful reactions).
• In January 2002, my mother-in-law had a relapse; my father-in-law had another stroke, leaving him paralyzed on right side and in convalescent care, with no work for six months.

During all of this, I still had to attend the daily needs of homeschooling and managing a household of six in under a thousand square feet.

My list may be longer or shorter than yours, heartaches deeper than or not as deep as yours, but there is no healing in comparing. Each of us has our own cross to bear, our own pain to endure, incredibly deep and real to each one of us.

Look unto Jesus. Know he is there with you in the midst of your pain.
Know that he carried that pain on the cross.

Resurrection always follows and is for eternity.

Therefore, we look away from the storm, the people, the circumstances and we concentrate our gaze on the author and finisher of our faith.

Jesus took the lead in our faith. Jesus is the one with whom Abraham was certain, of which all the Old-Testament saints were sure. Elizabeth and Zechariah waited, Mary waited, John waited, and the truly faithful waited. They thought they understood how the Messiah would come; they were looking for political and religious freedom.

God had true freedom in mind for them and has true freedom in mind for us. Freedom from the snares of this world, snares that go beyond surface bondage, snares that grip our very hearts. Jesus conquered it all. He overcame in the wilderness, faced every temptation we would ever face, every heartache (consider the roots- rejection, misunderstanding, false accusations, deep sorrow, weariness of mind, will and emotion) yet He came through without sinning. Through it all, He led the way to overcome by faith, by trusting and obeying His Heavenly Father. This faith led Him through suffering and into victory. He longs to lead us in the same way, to write into our lives an individual story of victory over this world...not just to start a story but to finish it.

My husband builds for a living. One day, as I was working on this study, he said he was off to set the finish on a house. I had to ask, "What does that mean?" To set the finish on a house is to put in all those details that make it a functional building. Things like doorknobs without which doors could not be opened, closet poles and shelves to allow for orderly closets, bathroom fixtures to hold towels and tissue... This is amazing! God not only saves us from condemnation He sets out to rebuild and finish us. He not only lays a foundation of faith for us to stand firmly on but also is finishing it so we can function in faith.

Lord, help us to understand that You are our faith. It is You we hold to, your character, your goodness. Teach us how to root our faith in You as Abraham and the rest of the great cloud of witnesses found in Hebrews 11 have done before us.

Our Lord Jesus is the self Existent, Eternal One who sets us free into a wide-open place, the Good Shepherd who defends and delivers us from the ravaging wolf, who rescues us from our wanderings when we cry out to Him. He preserves us through the storms and brings us through to victory. He is "the way the truth and the life" John 14:6. He is "the author and finisher of our faith who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:2 - "far above all principalities, power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come." Ephesians 1:21

Jesus alone is the author and finisher of faith. Jesus is the one who walked in complete faith and obedience on this earth. He lived in one of these mortal bodies complete with the weariness that comes physically, emotionally and spiritually. He faced every temptation we have or ever will face yet was without sin. (Hebrews 4:15) He knows the pain and heartache of walking by faith and he knows the joy and victory that comes through death to self.

Will we ever learn that we are no greater than our Master? His word tells us - "So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest... in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, though He was a Son, He learned obedience by the things which He suffered". (Hebrews 5:5a, 7-8)

We too will suffer. Why? Only God, who knows us deeply inside and out, knows the answer to that. We, oftentimes learn obedience through suffering. Is it really obedience to do what comes easily? Perhaps this is why His word says, "To obey is better than sacrifice." (1 Samuel 15:22)

When we obey despite the suffering, we do so by faith, by dying to our own understanding, to our own wills. Is this Christian walk then a drudgery of obedient life? No, dear sisters. Suffering is not the end of obedience. Perfection (maturity) is. "And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him" (Hebrews 5:9) We too will be perfected (matured) through these stormy seas.

He knows the plans He has for each of us, what gifts, talents or reflections of His character He will mature in each of us to shine the witness of His eternal salvation and love through us to a lost and hurting world. We cannot share what we have not received. We cannot truly receive what we do not realize we need. In the midst of the storms, we have great opportunity to receive much- much mercy, much grace, and much love.

This love we learn as our obedience fails, as our faith fails and yet His love never fails. He knew all along that we would fail Him and yet He still chose each of us to love and cherish, to free from death, to free from sin, Satan, the system and ourselves. Deep inside we each hunger and thirst for His love.

I never dreamed His love could be so deep, so wide, and so eternal. This love I am learning has not come through calm seas but through storms that have varied from mild to hurricane force. This love, His love I am learning, as He is all I have. For us to be completely and solely living through His Son, the true vine this is His greatest pleasure and our sweetest joy.

Yes, Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith. Through James, God speaks to us about one way He finishes (matures) this faith.

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowingthat the testing of your faith produces patience (perseverance). But letpatience have its perfect work that you may be perfect (mature) andcomplete, lacking nothing.
James 1:2-3

Storms are necessary, storms are good. They teach, remind and strengthen us about what we truly believe. They build perseverance.

My prayer for you, dear sisters is that as we follow Paul's journey of faith from conviction and through stormy seas, you will know a new depth of God’s loving ways, that your faith will grow and that you will be able to hear the call to "Be of good cheer."

Jesus himself said, "In this world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)