Portland Magazine
October 21, 2020
By timone davis
Art by Jeni Le
We’ve come this far by faith, Leaning on the Lord. Trusting in His holy Word. He’s never failed us yet. Oh, can’t turn around, We’ve come this far by faith.
—Chorus one of “We’ve Come This Far by Faith,” lyrics and music by Albert A. Goodson, composer in the African American gospel tradition, 1956, Chicago, IL
THE “SIGNS OF THE TIME” could cause one to lose hope, to think all is lost, to just give up and stop trying, but I have good news to share: God is still loving us and that love is saving us. Before my father died, I used to preach at his church on a monthly basis. Before the preaching event, the choir would lead the congregation in the same song,“We’ve Come This Far by Faith.” In my first year of hearing this tradition, I was like Really? Again? Don’t you know another song? Then one Sunday it clicked. We have made it to this point. We have done it—but only with God. So when I think about what is happening now, this song comes to mind and reminds me that we have made it through other trials and we can make it through these, if we don’t sit down.
“We’ve Come This Far by Faith” is about a collective arrival. We’ve journeyed to this point. We’re here. It’s about banding together, so we can achieve what God calls us to: God’s kin-dom.
In Isaiah 58:1–3, God calls us to shout out, to use our voice for justice, but not in the way we have in the past. God is calling for us to stop serving our own needs and instead to serve the needs of us all. Our inability to do what God asks of us does not stop Christ from still calling us forward to immerse ourselves in God’s gift of love so that we are transformed in a way that seeks to address the needs of the hungry, the naked, the homeless, and the oppressed.
But for many of us, the sentiments in “We’ve Come This Far by Faith” are the signal to stop, to sit down, and say, “The LORD got me this far, He’ll do the rest, while I rest.” We fail to see our role in the journey. We fail to realize that all our journeys are connected. Too often we forget that our existence begins in God, not each other. Knowing that we have been created in God’s image, we can’t rest; we can’t sit down now.
There’s too much to do.
Christians are called to be Christ for others. On that we can agree. Christianity should not be a title, but a way of life. We must stop our voicelessness and become Christians. Can you speak out against injustices? Better yet, can you stop participating in injustices? Following Christ is about seeing the struggles and becoming involved in order to fix them. The words we speak must manifest themselves in our actions. If we are asking someone to believe in a righteous God, we must be righteous people.
A Christian lifestyle is not about being comfortable. Wherever there is discomfort, a Christian should be uncomfortable. Our movement to help others should be quick just like we want God to be when She comes to help us. We don’t want God taking His time. Nor do we want God to stay in a comfort zone.
Embracing a life outside our comfort zone is so hard for most of us.
But not for Jesus. I’m ecstatic that Jesus wasn’t hindered by what He had never done before. That dying on the cross thing was a definite move out of His comfort zone. Going that far only made Him see how much farther He had to go.
“Can’t turn around; we’ve come this far.” We can’t turn around; we can’t sit down. Have we forgotten that the man we are named for didn’t sit down?
Knowing that we are sinners, we can’t sit down.
Knowing that the Church leadership does not reflect the diversity of the world, we can’t sit down.
Knowing that the Church, in all her interactions, does not fully reflect Jesus, we can’t sit down.
Knowing that we live in a world where the gospel is spoken of through the screens of hatred, discrimination, racism, and oppression, we can’t sit down.
Knowing that we are not living the sacred lives God has called us to, we can’t sit down.
Knowing that we have not reconciled ourselves with one another, we can’t sit down.
Knowing that people are out there waiting on us to show them the glory of God, we can’t sit down.
We’ve come this far by faith. We can’t sit down. We can’t sit down. We can’t sit down. We must stand. Stand through the struggle. Stand through the storm. Stand up for our rights.
Stand now if you’re willing to work for the LORD.
Stand now if you know you need the LORD to lead you.
Stand now if you’re in need of prayer.
Stand now if you know you’ve been sitting on what God has asked of you.
Stand up and ask the Holy Spirit to embrace you, hold you, lead you where you need to be.
In You, God, we find the peace that surpasses all understanding.
timone davis runs a business that blends clinical counseling and spiritual companioning and works as an assistant professor in the Institute of Pastoral Studies at Loyola University Chicago.
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