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I lay there on my back underneath the car. It wasn’t jacked up very high so I was in very cramped quarters. The underside of my trunk was about 12 inches above my face. Resin was dripping on my cheek causing a unique burning sensation, my wrist was cramping up due to the awkward angle I had to hold it in, the fumes were going to my head, and then the resin soaked cloth fell off the trunk onto my face – this was not going according to plan.
The car was my first car: a 1968 850 Fiat Spider. It had a fair bit of rust, and for this particular project I was attempting to fibreglass the trunk to seal and reinforce it. I had never worked with fibreglass before so this was definitely a trial and error scenario. I had gone down to my local automotive supply store to learn about fibre glassing. I bought all the supplies and then went to town on my trunk.
Have you ever worked with fibreglass?
This was really my first and only foray into the fine art of fibre glassing. There are certain rudimentary materials you need to work with fibreglass: fibreglass cloth, resin and catalyst. You cut the cloth to fit the area you want to cover with fibreglass. You add the catalyst to the resin and then paint it on the cloth with a brush.
Now please keep in mind, this is the extent of the elementary knowledge I acquired as a 16 year old in order to fix a beater of a car. I have no doubt there is a vast amount of knowledge in regard fibre glassing that has escaped my grasp, and my ignorance may be quite obvious to many of you. However, this elementary knowledge enabled me to fix my trunk and is the catalyst for an important lesson.
I discovered that the key to good fibreglass work is the amount of catalyst you add to the resin. The catalyst is the hardener. Without the hardener the resin is useless. With too much hardener the resin hardens too quickly, and with too little hardener it takes too long. I learned this, again, by trial and error.
To me, the catalyst was the key ingredient to creating a successful fibreglass job. It was really the only element I could control. Cutting the cloth was simple enough, the resins came ready-made, but it was the catalyst that initiated the miraculous chemical process to change a liquid to a solid – and I was in control of that process.
So what’s the lesson?
Well, the catalyst made it all happen. The catalyst solidified everything. The catalyst was the special ingredient to create fibreglass success.
So what is the catalyst for true success in our lives?
Success I would define as our ability to walk with the Lord in all that He wants to do in us and through us – His Kingdom coming and His will being done on earth as it is in heaven.
So what is the key ingredient to create that success?
Faith.
Faith is the catalyst for change, for growth, for relationship with God, for success. Faith is the catalyst that hardens our beliefs to create courage, strength, vision, steadfastness, faithfulness, and the like. Faith isn’t merely a mental assertion, it is belief in action.
Hearing Truth will do you no good if you do not combine it with faith. If the catalyst of faith is not added to Truth you will not see the change in your life you desire. And, if faith is not demonstrated by action it really isn’t faith. If we are not willing to live what we profess to believe I would question whether or not we really believe it.
We must trust God, believe what He says is true, then take action to demonstrate that Truth and its application in our lives. Faith is not so much belief without proof, but trust without reservation. Faith catalyses Truth in our lives to create God’s desired results. If we do not combine Truth with faith we miss all its benefits.
Where do you need to combine Truth with belief in action?
Faith is the key ingredient for true success.
Hebrews 4:2 (The Message)
“We received the same promises as those people in the wilderness, but the promises didn’t do them a bit of good because they didn’t receive the promises with faith.”
Hebrews 11:6 (The Message)
“It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him.”
James 2:17
“In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”