When Faith is all you have left

I drive an old car that doesn't have air conditioning. This is a relatively small inconvenience for the 20 days or so that it is terribly hot outside. The rest of the time I really don't mind driving with the window open... or "polish air conditioning" as my dad likes to call it.

Tonight I pulled into the far left lane under the bridge that connects Jackson Street to Warner Road in St Paul. Standing on the corner was an older, disheveled homeless man holding a sign that read "Faith is pretty much all I have left. Will you please help?"

Typically I avoid saying or doing anything with the homeless people wandering around the streets of st. paul. It's not that I don't care it's more that often being alone I just don't feel safe.

Something about my open window and this man though made me say something. I had a granola bar and a small pop up container of fruit sitting on my passenger seat and asked him if he'd like them.

He took them with a word of thanks. I really didn't know what else to say so I said that I was profoundly glad he has kept his faith (seriously this was an extremely long light!) He said if you don't have Jesus you have nothing and that he's been working for a year to try and make things better for his situation.

I said amen and hoped that he found some water to drink to stay hydrated. And the light turned green and I went on my merry way.

I seem to be running into very visible contrasts of faith lately. From people at the brink of giving up on God's promise to people like this man who had every belief that God would eventually bring him through this low point in his life.

“Faith expects from God what is beyond all expectation.” ~ Andrew Murray