Faith and wisdom are not mutually exclusive. Having a strong reliance on faith does not mean we lack wisdom, and being wise does not imply we have a lack of faith.
In our current climate it’s important that these two traits are combined at the forefront of our thinking.
In recent weeks, as we have been saturated with opinion and recommendations about the situation with novel coronavirus, I’m reminded of the illustration of the drowning man. It reads as follows:
A fellow was stuck on his rooftop in a flood. He was praying to God for help. Soon a man in a rowboat came by and the fellow shouted to the man on the roof, "Jump in, I can save you."
The stranded fellow shouted back, "No, it's OK, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me." So the rowboat went on.
Then a motorboat came by. "The fellow in the motorboat shouted, "Jump in, I can save you."
To this the stranded man said, "No thanks, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me. I have faith." So the motorboat went on.
Then a helicopter came by and the pilot shouted down, "Grab this rope and I will lift you to safety." To this the stranded man again replied, "No thanks, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me. I have faith." So the helicopter reluctantly flew away.
Soon the water rose above the rooftop and the man drowned. He went to Heaven. He finally got his chance to discuss this whole situation with God, at which point he exclaimed, "I had faith in you but you didn't save me, you let me drown. I don't understand why!"
To this God replied, "I sent you a rowboat and a motorboat and a helicopter, what more did you expect?"
In our current context, faith is ultimately important as it helps bring spiritual, emotional and mental strength to us and our families. It is easy to get caught up in the hysteria of the world and be driven by fear and anxiety. Combating these emotions begins with faith in the promises we have from God. Joshua 1:9 states ‘This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.’ (NLT) When we believe these promises we have a strong foundation to uphold our faith, which leads to confidence and trust. ‘This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him.’ (Psalms 91:2 NLT)
When we place our faith in God, we can begin to extend this and place faith in the people He has appointed before us to make important decisions (Romans 13:1). This includes school leaders, health experts, our national government, and you, as leaders of your household. As the illustration outlines, our faith in God needs to be combined with the wisdom He grants us to make sensible and informed decisions. Understandably, some families may be presented with different situations and need to apply this wisdom with different outcomes. As there is no ‘playbook’ for our current circumstances, putting our trust in God by applying faith and wisdom is my personal recommendation.
No matter the choices we make in the coming days, as individual families or as a whole school body, when we put our faith in God and apply His wisdom, we can enter each new situation with fearless anticipation. A.W. Tozer encourages us to let our confidence in God be infectious and bring courage to the world around us with the following quote: ‘A scared world needs a fearless church.’ I encourage you to continue to pray for wisdom, and have faith to believe that He will provide it.
The latest communication from our CEO (previously circulated) about our response to the COVID-19 pandemic can be found here.
Andrew Nash – Head of Primary