Matt Popovits: Faithful When We Fall Short

Houstonin Pyhän Markuksen luterilaisen seurakunnan (LCMS) johtava pastori Matt Popovits vieraili Maata Näkyvissä -festareiden pääpuhujana. Popovits antoi oheisen tekstin julkaistavaksi suomalaisille nuorille. Teksti julkaistaan kuten Matt sen kirjoitti, englanniksi, ja sen lopussa on lyhyt suomenkielinen tiivistelmä.

“He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:24

Somewhere in your soul there’s a ruler, the old wooden kind from grade school, a little dented and covered in scratches. You pull it out when you want to know where you stand with God.

Am I doing enough?

Am I better than I was last week?

Have I climbed high enough to make Him proud?

That ruler becomes a way of measuring your worth, your progress, even your belonging. And it quietly turns faith into a performance.

But faith was never meant to be measured. Faith was meant to be received. 

When Faith Feels Like a Test

In Junk Drawer Jesus, I wrote that we’re prone to think of faith like climbing a mountain — always checking our progress, always trying to get closer to the summit where God must surely be waiting, impressed by the view. We assume the goal of the Christian life is to improve, to ascend, to measure up.

Yet that ruler, that mountain, that mindset will wear you down. Because the higher you climb, the more you realize how far you still have to go. The more you measure, the smaller you feel.

And into that exhaustion, the gospel speaks a radically different word: “He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it.”

Notice what Paul doesn’t say. He doesn’t say, “You are faithful, and if you keep it up, God will help you.”He says, He is faithful. He will do it. The story of Christianity isn’t about your climb toward God; it’s about God’s descent toward you, in Jesus Christ, who was faithful unto death, even death on a cross.

On that cross, Christ did what we never could. He bore our sin, paid our debt, and kept every promise of God’s love. His faithfulness there, when ours completely failed, is what saves us still.

The End of the Ruler

Once you realize that your relationship with God isn’t based on how much you’ve done for Him but on what Christ has already done for you, everything changes.

You can finally put down the ruler. You can stop calculating your worth, stop comparing your faith to someone else’s, stop trying to prove that you belong.

Faith isn’t about having perfect confidence; it’s about trusting the One who is perfectly faithful. It’s not about the strength of your belief; it’s about the strength of your Savior.

When you doubt, He remains.

When you wander, He pursues.

When you fall short, His cross still stands.

That’s what Paul means when he says, “He will surely do it.” God doesn’t just make promises; He keeps them. He doesn’t just call you; He completes you, through the finished work of Christ.

For the Festival

At Maata Näkyvissä, surrounded by thousands of friends, you’ll hear songs of hope and belonging. You’ll feel faith rising and hearts opening. But the truest moment of worship may come later, when the lights dim, the crowd thins, and it’s just you and your thoughts.

That’s when the ruler usually comes out.

Was my faith real?

Did I feel enough?

Am I faithful enough?

When that moment comes, remember this: faithfulness isn’t your achievement—it’s God’s character, proven once and for all at the cross. The One who called you is faithful. He will surely do it.

He will hold you steady when emotions fade.

He will forgive you when your performance falters.

He will finish what He started in you.

So breathe. Rest. Be still.

The pressure’s off. The promise remains.

And the One who calls you, the crucified and risen Christ, is faithful.

All the way to the end.

Adapted from “Junk Drawer Jesus” by Matt Popovits, published by 1517.org

Suomenkielinen tiivistelmä

Ihminen alkaa helposti mitata uskoaan ja kelpaamistaan: teenkö tarpeeksi, kehitynkö, olenko parempi kuin ennen? Tällainen itsensä tarkkailu muuttaa uskon suoritukseksi ja uuvuttaa, koska mittaamisen myötä oma vajavaisuus vain kasvaa silmissä.

Kristillisen uskon ydin ei ole ihmisen ponnistelu kohti Jumalaa, vaan se, että Jumala tulee ihmisen luo Jeesuksessa Kristuksessa. Pelastus ja jumalasuhde perustuvat Kristuksen uskollisuuteen ja siihen, mitä hän on tehnyt ristillä, ei siihen, miten vahva, tunteikas tai onnistunut oma usko kulloinkin on. Siksi uskoa ei tarvitse todistella eikä vertailla toisiin: se on ennen kaikkea luottamusta uskolliseen Vapahtajaan.

Myös hengelliset huippuhetket voivat myöhemmin herättää epäilyä omasta aitoudesta tai riittävyydestä. Silloinkin turva on Jumalan pysyvässä uskollisuudessa: hän kantaa, antaa anteeksi, etsii eksynyttä ja vie päätökseen sen, minkä on ihmisessä aloittanut. Paine suorittaa väistyy, ja tilalle tulee lepo ja luottamus siihen, että Jumala pitää lupauksensa loppuun asti.