I Mystic Tan, do you? 

I love a great suntan, but I just don’t like to tan.  I would love to claim health concerns, but I just hate to sweat.  Hate it.  I love to be tan, I just don’t want TO tan.  And then I met Mystic Tan. 

Hello spray tan. 

At first, I was worried I’d end up looking like an rogue Oompa Loompa  and then I had a flashback to QT self tanner.  Yes, I shuddered.  Finally, I decided to go Nike… uhm, Just Do It.  

Guess what?  It worked.  I looked tan, no streaking, no weird spotting, just a tan.  Simple and very much NOT orange, which thrilled me since I really wouldn’t look good in the Ooompa Loompa poofy pants outfit. 

And the tan stayed for about a week, which is standard for the Mystic Tan. 

I’m loving this spray on tan.  I can get that sun-kissed glow without the hassle of getting all hot and sweaty.  I just stand in the Mystic Tan booth for a few minutes and VIOLA!  I’m tan. 

I see this in faith.  I once longed for the faith I saw in great leaders and teachers.  I wanted to knowledge or Kay Arthur, the humor of Angela Thomas. the teaching style of Beth Moore, and the sass of Lysa TerKeurst.   I wanted it all, but the working to get it wasn’t something I was interested in.   I wanted Spray On Faith. 

I wanted to stand in a booth and have the Lord just spray wisdom, discernment and knowledge all over me.  Let me just tell you, it does NOT work. 

Like the spray on tan, spray on faith will fade quickly when it’s scrubbed.  When you rub against something abrasive, spray on faith fades.  And with time, spray on faith will fade.  It fades because it’s just on the surface.

It’s a message spoken from the mouth and not the heart. 

It’s a scripture quoted but not understood. 

It’s clanging symbols that just make noise.

I no longer walk with Spray On Faith, I walk in the newness of a life in Christ.  I found that faith, unlike tans, cannot be sprayed on.  Faith starts in the heart.  It’s knowing that God is who He says He is and that I am who He says I am. 

Faith, the real kind, is how I walk today.  I trust that God is leading me in His ways and I understand that things don’t always make sense, but He, in His infinite wisdom, always makes sense.  It’s living out 2 Corinth 5:7.   ‘For we walk by faith, not by sight’

So, I may keep up with the spray on tan, but I’ve long given up the spray on faith. 

“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy”

1 Peter 1:8

What about you?  Are you living a faith that is grounded in the hope of Christ & the glorious joy of Him?