Yesterday, FOXNews.com had an article that covered a forum where the three leading Democratic presidential candidates talked about faith and values. One of the presidential candidates was Hillary Clinton who gets an “A” for effort regarding her talk on faith.

She had a few admirable statements, such as:

• She probably could not have gotten through her marital troubles without relying on her faith in God.
• “I am very grateful that I had a grounding in faith that gave me the courage and the strength to do what I thought was right, regardless of what the world thought.”
• “I’m not sure I would have gotten through it without my faith.”
• She was sustained by the prayers of others.

One of her last comments was, “At those moments in time when you are tested, it is absolutely essential that you be grounded in your faith,” and I think this statement is typical of most Americans. In fact, I think it exemplifies the status of American faith in God.

Although Clinton’s statement is definitely true, I think it’s almost more important to be grounded in your faith during the non-testing times.

I’m sure somebody with a more statistical mind than my own has already discovered and proved this to be true (and please contact me if you have), but I think there is a 20/60/20 rule. The theory is that the majority of people’s life experiences can be broken down into the following:

• 20% of their life will be in the pits
• 60% of their life will be on the plateaus
• 20% of their life will be on the peaks

We all know by experience what the pits are and hopefully we’ve had opportunity to experience some peaks in our lives. It’s the plateaus of life that I want to take a look at today.

By definition a plateau is…

Plateau
–noun

1. a land area having a relatively level surface considerably raised above adjoining land on at least one side, and often cut by deep canyons.
2. a period or state of little or no growth or decline: to reach a plateau in one’s career.
3. Psychology. a period of little or no apparent progress in an individual’s learning, marked by an inability to increase speed, reduce number of errors, etc., and indicated by a horizontal stretch in a learning curve or graph.

The percentages may be wrong but I believe the theory is correct; the majority of our lives will be between peaks and pits. Maybe we call them by a different name — the daily grind, the dead-end job, or the glass ceiling — but the plateaus are still there and that’s where the larger part of our lives are lived.

I believe that the degree to which our faith is grounded and active during the plateaus of life will greatly determine how we respond during the pits and peaks of life. Is our faith grounded in the Word of God or in something else? Is the Bible the one and only solid foundation for our faith or do we allow other things (experiences, teachings, concepts, ideas, etc.) to influence our belief in Jesus Christ?

Also, how active is our faith? Are we applying the Word of God to our lives and actually living out what we say we believe? One of my favorite verses is James 2:17 which says, “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” If our faith in Jesus Christ is genuine then it should compel us to act! And what should we act on? the Word of God! Jesus proves this true by saying, “If you love me, you will obey what I command (John 14:15).”

So with this in mind, let’s look at an individual whose life was full of pits, peaks, and plateaus — Joseph of the Old Testament. One might say that Joseph’s life was only pits and peaks but I don’t think so.

When Joseph came under Potiphar’s care (Genesis 39) he had already gone through some pits (literally) but now was entering a plateau. The chapter explains how he received many responsibilities to manage Potiphar’s household because the Lord was with him and had blessed him. This new plateau for Joseph was a life of faith, day-in and day-out trusting in God and following the commands of his master, Potiphar. Everything was going well, until Potiphar’s wife took notice of him.

Genesis 39:7-10
7 and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!”

8 But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. 9 No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” 10 And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.

This passage clearly outlines that Joseph’s faith was grounded; he would not waver from what he knew to be true. We can also see that he was willing to act on his faith by refusing to give into his master’s wife in verses 9 and 10. Joseph initially responded to Potiphar’s wife with, “How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” and then day after day continued to refuse her. Joseph was not afraid to act on his grounded faith but as a result of this had another pit present itself.

Genesis 39:20-23
20 Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined.
But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21 the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 22 So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. 23 The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

When most people would have been crushed by the prison surroundings, Joseph remained strong. He didn’t “loose faith” during this pit but instead remained resolute. I believe he was able to do this because during his normal, average, non-peak, non-pit, day-in and day-out daily grind of a life he made sure his faith was grounded and he acted on that faith.

Likewise when Joseph was at a couple of his greatest peaks (Genesis 41-43: when Joseph was in Charge of Egypt and when his family came to Egypt) he didn’t cast off God saying he didn’t need Him anymore or lash out at his brothers for what they did to him. During the peaks and the pits of life Joseph remained grounded and active in his faith toward God.

And, by far, the best example is Jesus. He prepared for his greatest peak (the transfiguration) and most horrible pit (the cross) by walking in grounded, active faith toward the Father while in the plateaus of life.

So let’s not be the standard American who only turns to God during the pits of life and then quickly turns away when things are back “under control.” Instead, let’s prepare for the pits and peaks now by walking out (grounding and acting on) our faith during the plateaus of life.