Sweater Weather (Friday Devotional)

 

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

- Hebrews 11:1

As I type these words, I’m wearing a T-shirt, gym shorts, and flip flops, perfectly appropriate attire for the weather. Today’s forecast calls for a high near 90 degrees. When I pick up my kids from school this afternoon, we’ll be sweating by the time we get back to the car. It still feels like summer.

Nevertheless, time marches on. Tonight, Major League Baseball begins its World Series, the so-called “Fall Classic.” Our church will host its fall festival tomorrow. Starbucks has been selling pumpkin spice lattes for weeks. It may still feel like summer, but our habits and traditions persevere—whatever the weather says, we stubbornly insist that autumn has arrived.

In some ways, it feels silly to carry on this way in defiance of our senses. Why should we pretend we need to have a jacket handy when it’s so obviously unnecessary? Saying the seasons have changed when we remain so obviously mired in the same one we’ve been in since May feels like an act of cognitive dissonance, a willful act of mass delusion.

Yet I can’t help but feel there’s something hopeful about it. Cooler weather may be delayed, but our rhythms endure, because we trust that change will be here soon. We refuse to cancel our annual traditions because we don’t need it to feel like fall to know that it is fall.

It’s not hard to believe in something when you can see it. But biblical faith is trusting God when faith is all you have to lean on, going all in on hope instead of hedging your bets. There will always be those who call such faith naïve, even silly—but there is something profoundly brave about persevering in faith when cold, hard rationality says you should just give up.

Our world is a cynical, pessimistic place, and if you listen to it too closely, you’ll be ready to throw in the towel at any moment. But if you listen to God’s Word, you’ll hear a different refrain: hope. The tomb is empty, and Jesus is returning soon. The Holy Spirit is at work. God is making all things new.

It’s hot down here, no doubt about it. But don’t throw away your sweater quite yet. Persevere in hope, looking forward to the day when your faith will become sight.