By Leo Hellyer
Men of God show their faith in many ways, and some of those are very unique and even, at times, crazy ways. Jesus Christ came to earth and lived a very unique and at times crazy life, compared to the average inhabitant of this planet. As Christian men, we need to have a crazy faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Crazy is not a bad thing, and in the case of crazy faith, it is very good and desirable.
There is a great book written by Michael Todd called “Crazy Faith” that is very enlightening, challenging, and eye-opening in how we should live out our faith. One of the things Todd states in the first part of “Crazy Faith” is, “I wholeheartedly believe that life is more about progression than perfection, so let’s be H.O.T. (humble, open, and transparent) with each other and discover more of the great plan God has for us as we walk by faith.”
As we experience life in our communities, and as we see the brokenness in our society, we can really benefit from having a crazy faith, believing that God Almighty is in control and that we must depend on Him to make sense out of our dysfunctional surroundings.
Todd defines crazy faith as, “having thoughts and actions that lack reason but trusting fully in what you cannot explicitly prove.”
Many people find it difficult to believe in something that they cannot physically touch and/or cannot fully explain and comprehend without any doubt. Many of the people that we live, work and play around try to put God into a box they can understand and feel comfortable with. Our society, our children, our grandchildren need us as Christian men to live our lives with crazy faith. The media cannot fix the wrongs around us; corporate America cannot fix the wrongs; and for sure, politicians are powerless to fix what is wrong around us. The only way that this secular, lost world around us can be turned around is by Christian men with crazy faith to step up, go out on a limb, and stand up for what is right and good.
Christian men with crazy faith don’t become tier one operators of faith right out of the block. A couple of scriptures speak to this exact concept. The prophet Zechariah stated, “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin” (Zechariah 4:10). In Philippians 1:6, Paul writes, “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
If we will live our lives out with crazy faith, we can be “Scripture in Real Life.” Todd explains it like this: “Do you know you’re the first version of the Bible some people read? They may be reluctant to pick up God’s Word for themselves, but they can experience it coming to life right before their eyes when they encounter you.”
As we live our everyday lives, there are people watching us. This is absolutely not something to fear, but something to be aware of, and to live our lives accordingly.
There are many divisions in the world we live in. There are many differences of opinion. There are many ways to react to these polarizations that are present. Men with crazy faith hear, witness, and experience the hate and mistrust – but hold on to the hope. In 2 Corinthians Paul writes, “We walk by faith, not by sight.”
We cannot witness the evil in our world and just complain about it, we need to exercise our faith, we need to exhibit our crazy faith. We need to not just “talk the talk”; we need to “walk the walk.” Many Christians, and fringe Christians, pray to God to do something! Michael West has a wonderful song called “Do Something.” In West’s song, he says that God’s answer to our prayer that He do something is that He did: He created you.
God didn’t create us to just take up space, look good, and consume oxygen. God created us to be His hands and feet in this lost world. God created us to do crazy things in His name. God is not someone to put in a box – God can’t even BE put in a box! If we are going to have a crazy faith in a crazy God, then we need to hold on for a crazy ride. God takes us through the good and bad, the easy and the hard, the joyful and sorrowful, the peaceful and combative. God is always with us. God prepares a place for us. The more we live our crazy faith, the more we will understand God’s ways.
God has the solutions to the difficulties we face in our lives. It is through our crazy faith in our loving Heavenly Father and God Almighty that we are able to defeat Satan’s attacks. Our crazy faith in God provides us with power beyond our own capabilities. The only way that we can defeat powerful nations preying upon other nations they perceive as weak, and the only way we can defeat senseless violence in our grocery stores, homes, theaters, places of worship, and schools, is through men and women who openly utilize their crazy faith in God. Our secular society, politicians, or government do not have the answers; only God has the answers, ability, and pure desire to deliver us from the wickedness of a lost world.
Leo Hellyer is a non-staff pastor with a local church and has been married to his wife Norma for more than 45 years. The couple volunteered with the Boise FamilyLife Ministry Team for 20 years. Leo has also been serving with Boise Rescue Mission Ministries for 20 years and is currently serving at the River of Life Rescue Mission. He is president and chief firearms instructor with Helping Hands Firearms Training LLC. If you have questions about Real Man’s Toolbox, or need other assistance, Leo may be reached at [email protected] or 208-340-5544.