As a Christian, faith in God is built on serving God and obeying his commandments.
Ephesians 6:10 “Finally, be strong in the lord and in his mighty power”. To have faith is to trust in God’s power, strength and his will for us, no matter what happens.
Even so, many of us still find it hard to keep faith during difficult times.
It is a common fact that most people struggle with change. For that reason, the past two years have been especially difficult.
Like everyone else, I was caught off-guard when the coronavirus first struck in 2019. Seemingly overnight, the world changed. Everything – from my work to my relationships – was thrown into turmoil.
Though it’s long past Labor Day, I thought about sharing how the changes in work has challenged my faith during this time.
Work is a huge part of our daily life; it informs our purpose and existence. Unfortunately, work has been one of the things most affected by this pandemic.
With six successful seasons of ONE Warrior Series in Asia under our belt, my team and I were looking forward to crushing number seven.
Sadly, it became too difficult filming a travel show during a pandemic and production was soon put on hold. With the show on indefinite hiatus, I had to pivot from hosting to commentating.
In the past two years, nothing about our work or job has been quite like what we expected or hoped for.
For me, this disruption was swift, dramatic, and most importantly, hard. My faith was tested.
The things which I long took for granted, those that were so routine – workouts at the gym or casual banter at the office – were ripped from my life. I was disappointed and hurt.
Humans desire consistency and stability. When we have or feel a sense of control over our lives, we have faith that things will be good.
The pandemic has introduced massive uncertainties into every facet of our lives. It is precisely why many of us struggle with our faith during this time.
Despite my disappointment, I knew the doctors, nurses, first responders, delivery drivers had a significantly harder task because of all the changes.
I leaned heavily into prayer and found a desire to be closer to God during this time.
An attitude of gratitude is what allowed me to accept the conditions of my present but also be optimistic that if God has set me on this path, he will see me through it as he always does.
Instead of asking how to have faith during this time, I simply took it as an opportunity to develop my relationship with God.
We are not here by accident. It is by design that Jesus designed each of us exactly as we are. We are created in his image, to be in a loving relationship with him. But like all relationships, it needs to be tested, otherwise it will not develop.
You see, faith is only built through challenges. There will be times when we need to trust and rely on God.
However, faith without action is not enough. If God has set out to challenge us, we need to take courageous steps in the face of change and in doing so, transform ourselves into better people.
Remember the parable of Abraham?
In the ultimate test of faith, Abraham was even ready to offer his son Issac on the altar as a sacrifice. Fortunately, that did not happen as Jesus sent for his messenger, and a ram was offered instead.
But what we can learn is that Abraham was willing to demonstrate his commitment when faced with the most horrifying prospect of losing his son.
Trials are meant to reveal our obedience to God. They produce strength, grow our character and deepen our faith.
In the case of this pandemic, the transformation of work involves growth, exploring new possibilities and more importantly, an opportunity to understand new meaning about how we live and work.
As we adapt to an age of teleconferencing, Zoom and remote work, it will challenge us individually.
Just as students and teachers will struggle with online classes, parents will also have to find ways to better manage their time when they juggle kids and remote work.
I’ve emerged from this crisis a better person. With new responsibilities, I have built new relationships and learned new things in the process.
When I look and reminisce about what once was, I am also comforted by what could be.
Throughout this entire time, we have resisted change, simply because.
But when we are forced to confront new and sometimes harsh realities sooner than expected, our faith and mettle are tested.
The choice is on us to develop ourselves and grow into the better people that we know we can become.