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          In preparation for the message today, I’d like to give you a                    number of scenarios. I’d like for you to assess each and decide what you would honestly do in these situations. When reading over these, do not give “church” answers. Do not think about what you know you should do or what the Christian thing to do is. But, knowing yourself, be honest and think about how you would likely respond.

-You are driving the speed limit down a highway when someone                 recklessly pulls out in front of you. You have to hit your brakes to avoid a  collision. As they pull away the driver of the other vehicle holds out their hand and gives you a very inappropriate gesture.

-You are in the store on a very busy day. As you wait in line at the checkout, you turn to look at something and someone else pushes their cart in front of you, cutting in line. When you politely say something, they refuse to acknowledge you.

-You are going for a walk in the park. You stumble over a stick and noticeably struggle to keep from falling on your face. A nearby person laughs at you and makes an insulting comment.

-You have just finished a huge project at work. When presenting it to your boss, a co-worker points out a minor error that does not affect the final result. As you try to get feedback from your boss, this co-worker continually mentions the small mistake over and over again to the point of embarrassment.

-You answer the phone at your job. On the other end of the line is a very upset customer who harshly criticizes you for a problem they had (even though it is not your fault). When you try to calmly explain the situation, they refuse to listen and, instead, continue deriding you.

Faith requires investment. I was told of a water park that had a slide that took the rider underwater in a SHARK POOL! You could slide through the water and watch the sharks, but still be safely enclosed. As these experiences were described to me, my brain did it’s job and placed pictures in my mind of what I imagined it to be like. However, I find that when I rely on this imaginative process, it is never actually accurate to the real thing: amenities are in different proximities, structures always look a little different, and the surroundings are often very dissimilar. This is to be expected. Things are never quite how we imagine them simply because our brains try to comprehend something they have not experienced. I will never know exactly what that slide is like unless I go and try it out for myself.

     The benefits of faith are like this. The Bible tells us that through faith we experience a love put in our hearts by God, a peace that surpasses understanding, and hope that prevails even in the most troubling times. But for the person who does not live by faith (or even those who are immature in their walk with Christ) these concepts are foreign. There may be knowledge OF them, but there is no true comprehension of such benefits. Psalm 34 tells us to “taste and see that the Lord is good.” To truly understand His goodness, you must taste, you must take part in it yourself. It is only after faith that we begin to truly comprehend the benefits of faith. If you find that you are lacking the benefits that scripture says are yours, perhaps you need to pursue a deeper walk with Christ. It is only in getting to know Him that we truly experience His presence.