Full of faith, ready for anything

My co-workers and family may laugh at this, but I'm finding an increasing irritation with disorder.

A glass left on the sink, when it should be in the dishwasher. The remains of yesterday's fast-food run left on the dining room table. A candy wrapper dropped on the floor of my vehicle. Papers awaiting review at my desk. The interval between mess-making and mess-clearing is getting shorter and shorter.

Am I becoming -- in middle age -- a fussbudget?

A fussbudget is someone who needlessly worries about unimportant matters. A long-deferred move toward becoming tidy is not prima facie evidence that you are forever tilting at windmills.

There is a lot to be said for order. Order gives others the impression of stability; it can give you the illusion of a modicum of control.

However, it is possible to strangle faith with an emphasis on stability and control. The best definition we have for the word "faith" suggests that the person of faith ought to be prepared for anything:

"Faith makes us sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1/ CEV)

Over and over again, the Bible demonstrates God's desire that people be faithful. Full of faith. Full of faith, ready for anything, prepared to go and do as God leads. Ready to embrace the seemingly impossible, rather than merely religious, with a devotion toward the mechanics of religious practice.

Two weeks ago I wouldn't have given you a plugged nickel for the Cardinals' chances in the postseason. I had no faith left in the team. But look at them now. They're in the World Series -- a rematch of 1968 fall classic, won in seven games by Detroit.

Do you know what a plugged nickel is? The phrase is now used as a metaphor for worthlessness. Back when coins contained valuable metal, a counterfeiter would remove the silver or other valuable metal from the center of the coin and replace it with a "plug" of lead. These coins were no longer legal tender, losing their value and passing out of circulation.

As I recall my late-season analysis of the Cardinals' chances, and the origin of the term "plugged nickel," these wonderful verses (often regarded as a prophecy for a coming Messiah) come to mind:

"The stone that the builders tossed aside has now become the most important stone. The Lord has done this and it is amazing to us." (Psalm 118:22-23/CEV)

I didn't think the Cardinals had what it took to win this year. The psalmist writes -- if you subscribe to a certain interpretation -- of a day when people would look at the Messiah and yet not see anything of value.

Sacked out in front of the television, I will attempt to turn off my increasingly ordered, near-fussbudget and plugged nickel-oriented mind, in order to be full of faith. I will be prepared for anything and ready to embrace the seemingly impossible. And that's just what the Tigers look like to me right now -- an impossibly tough opponent.

The faithful man or woman is often in the minority. Caleb and Joshua were the only two spies to return from Canaan who thought Israel could take the land. "We can certainly do this," they said. That's faith. The readiness to embrace the seemingly impossible.

Hey, if it was not too much of a stretch to have faith in the Cardinals, can it be so hard to repose trust in God, who is unquestionably higher and larger than a single baseball team?

Jeff Long is pastor of Centenary United Methodist Church in Cape Girardeau. Married with two daughters, he is of Scots and Swedish descent, loves movies, and is a lifelong fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers.