Former Blackout Artist

From the Treasury of Charles H. Spurgeon: The Importance of Faith

“Faith is sometimes weak and comparable only to a very slender thread; but it is a very precious thing for all that, for it is the beginning of great things. Years ago they were wanting to throw a suspension bridge across a mighty chasm, through which flowed, far down, a navigable river. From crag to crag it was proposed to hang an iron bridge aloft in the air, but how was it to be commenced? They shot an arrow from one side to the other, and it earned across the gulf a tiny thread. That invisible thread was enough to begin with. The connection was established; by-and-by the thread drew a piece of twine, the twine carried after it a small rope, the rope soon carried a cable across, and all in good time came the iron chains and all else that was needed for the permanent way. Now, faith is often very weak, but even in that case it is still of the utmost value, for it forms a communication between the soul and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Many years back when my daughter was young, I was trying to teach her how to play golf at the local driving range. Over and over she would swing and completely miss the ball, and she would get so frustrated with herself.

Finally I made a few adjustments and she was able to hit the ball, although the ball would dribble and roll about 20 yards ahead of her and never get in the air. More frustration ensued, and more adjustments were needed.

We’d been there for nearly an hour and she was ready to come home. With only about 10 balls left, I told her, “Come on, Claire… you can do this. All you have to do is just keep your eye on the ball and not look up to see where it is going. We’re not leaving here until you hit a good one!”

She mumbled something along the lines of, “I hate golf, I’m never doing this again, it was just a huge waste of time…”

Another dribbler. Followed by another. Followed by another.

She got so mad! And on the next one she swung the club with all her might and bam! The ball took off in the air, about 100 yards down range! And when she saw it, a huge smile came to her face and she said, “Well, that took long enough. Let’s go home now on a good note.”

On the ride home she was fairly quiet. But as we pulled into the driveway, she looked over at me and said, “Dad, can we go hit golf balls again sometime?”

Out of 50 balls, she only hit one ball in the air. But that last one she hit – that was the one that gave her hope. That little thread of faith was enough for her to want to try it again.

Spurgeon had one more thought about the importance of faith that I’ll close with today:

“If a man is thirsty, a rope and a bucket are not in themselves of much use to him. But if there is a well near at hand, the very thing that is wanted is a bucket and a rope, by means of which the water can be lifted. Faith is the bucket by means of which a man may draw water out of the wells of salvation, and drink to his heart’s content.”