A Three-Step Journey of Faith

The Road from Awareness to Endurance

David Roseberry

Apr 04, 2025

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And remember, in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the founding of Christ Church in Plano, where I served for 31 years, I will be sharing stories from the early days. Those of you who are or were members will want to follow along. Become a paid subscriber to get everything delivered to you stress-free and in your inbox.

First Awe. Then Faith. Then Freedom

“You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!” —Psalm 22:23

Three Steps

Take a look at Psalm 22:23. If you just read it as a passing thought, you might miss its meaning. There are three kinds of people mentioned—three kinds of people who have faith.

All you who fear the Lord.
All you offspring of Jacob.
All you offspring of Israel.

You almost missed it, didn’t you? I did as well. But every detail of this deep psalm is essential.

There are no throw-away lines in poetry. King David was making a point. And Jesus was reciting it. He meant it, too.

It is an amazing point to consider.

Three kinds of people are mentioned, and they are in order, in progression. One type leads to the next.

Let’s look…

All Who Fear the Lord

First are those who fear the Lord. These are people who have a sense of God. They know of God. They know they are made by His command. They don’t come from nothing. They feel that God put them on the planet for a purpose. It might be vague. God may be impersonal to them. But He is real.

They have a sense that God is Holy. And they are Not.

Everyone reading this right now is that person, at least. Or we were, at one point early in our journey. We all start our faith with a hazy, blurry sense that there is a God, and He has something to do with our lives. And in that sense, we fear Him—not a scared kind of fear—although it can feel that way. It is an ‘awe’ of Him.

This is you in your early years of faith. Me too. Maybe it’s you right now. It is the starting place for everyone.

The Offspring of Jacob

Then there is a Jacob kind of believer. All you offspring of Jacob…

Jacob was a striver—the grasping one. From birth, he wrestled—first with his brother Esau, then with everyone and everything else in his path. He deceived his father, stole his brother’s birthright, and then ran for his life. But years later, on the eve of reuniting with Esau, Jacob found himself alone at night—and God met him there.

That’s Jacob. He wants things on his terms. Selfish. Determined. Admirable, in a way. Capable of choice—even if it is a bad choice.

I can easily relate to Jacob. I am his offspring. I like what I like, and I want to do what I like. Some might call it selfish. I think of it as more self-assuredness. I know what I want. Can you relate to that? (Be honest.)

The Offspring of Israel

Then there is Israel. This does not refer to the country or the people of the modern nation. This is a man named Israel, who is the same as Jacob, only after a wrestling match with God.

Let’s go back to the story. (Genesis 32)

Jacob was alone one night—the night before the dawn when he was named Israel. He was about to cross a river to meet up with his estranged (and furiously angry, he supposed) brother, Esau. Then someone appeared. It was God. An angel. A man. We don’t know which. But He appeared. It was time to teach Jacob a lesson he needed to know and would never forget.

The God/angel/man and Jacob wrestled until daybreak. Jacob (Mr. Determination) refused to let go of his assailant until he blessed him or gave him the hard lesson he (Jacob) needed to learn.

At dawn, the God/angel/man slammed his hip and wrenched it out of joint. Then came the blessing—and the new name: Israel.

“You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed” (Genesis 32:28).

Jacob limped away from that encounter as Israel. He was no longer just a common schemer. He had a new name and a new purpose. He was Israel.

He was no longer the striver. He became the prevailer.

And to remind Jacob of his new identity and purpose as Israel, he developed a very bad case of sciatica for the rest of his life.

I’ve had that. Many of my readers have had it, too. It is painful. You can walk, but you never forget it. It stays with you. It becomes what Paul would later call a ‘thorn in the flesh’—something always present that reminds you of…wait for it… our God, who is also always present.

Verse 23 is for three kinds of people or one person at three different stages of their faith journey:

Those who fear the Lord. They know of Him.
Those who come from Jacob. They know of Him, but like it their way.
Those who come from Israel. They know Him because He touched them hard.

Verse 23 is for those who fear the Lord, for the Jacobs who still believe on their own terms, and for the Israels, who have been humbled and walk every day with a limp, a reminder that God has touched them.

All three are mentioned—all three praise God.

Some sing in innocence.
Others in their strength.
Some sing from endurance.

Wedding Vows

I’ve performed well over a hundred weddings. And as much as I love doing them, I always know something the couple doesn’t. Not yet.

There they are—young, radiant, full of hope. They recite vows that have been exchanged by endless couples through the centuries: to have and to hold… for better or worse… in sickness and in health… till death parts us. It’s beautiful. Sacred.

But they don’t fully know what they’re promising.

They love like those who fear the Lord. Innocently. They make their plans and promise their vows with determination and excitement. They are like Jacobs—standing on the edge of something they can’t yet see.

But behind them, scattered through the pews, are couples who know what the young couple does not know. The Israels. The ones who have wrestled. With God. With each other. With their own stubborn hearts. They’ve wept. Forgiven. Stayed.

And they’ve made it.

Psalm 22 is moving now into a kind of praise that is not naïve but tested. The psalmist, the sufferer, calls to the congregation—not just the noobs, inexperienced and innocent. And not just those who bear the faith. But also those who bear the scars.

Jesus says:

You who fear the Lord—so glad you are here. Praise God for having awakened you.
You offspring of Jacob—so glad you are here. Praise God for what lies ahead.
You offspring of Israel—so glad you are here too. Praise God for what lies behind you—the times you wrestled and lived.

And God is not done yet.

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Collect for All The People of God

O God of Jacob and of Israel, who calls both the striving and the scarred to gather in praise, welcome us—whether we come with youthful hope or hard-won wisdom, with bright beginnings or battle-tested faith. Teach us to stand in awe of your presence, to lift our voices with the saints who have gone before, and to trust that you are not finished with us yet; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who wrestled, was wounded, and now reigns in glory, with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

This is Friday. We have one more week, ending on April 11th.

Grace and peace,

David Roseberry ☩
The Anglican