Foi est tout

My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. Psalm 62:1,2 NIV

My surname, Robinson, is a very common English name. Its derivation is “son of Robin,” Robin being a diminutive of Robert, which means “famous brilliance.” The family motto for Robinson is foi est tout, or “faith is everything.” Well, it is, if you put your faith (belief and actions) in the Lord of Hosts.

Foi est tout. When I had just moved away from everything familiar and found myself without enough money to scrape by, the Lord solved the problem, and my debtor paid up, alleviating my poverty. Later, when I had no job, I promised God that I would, by honoring our partnership, continue to give the same offerings every two weeks as if I had a regular paycheck, until God found me a job or I ran out of money. I got the job seven months later, but I never ran out of money. I paid my mortgage and bills on time, received a serendipitous scholarship to accomplish a long-held goal, and had enough left at the first paycheck to cover my bills as usual. It was like the widow whose flour and oil never ceased during a famine (1 Kings 17). By my figures, my emergency fund should have run dry in two months. How did the money last for seven months, with a cushion left over? Only by God’s grace.

Foi est tout. But only if your faith is in El Shaddai, the Almighty Protector and Nourisher. People will let you down no matter how hard they try to keep faith with you.

King David the songwriter knew that foi est tout. “God, the one and only—I’ll wait as long as he says. Everything I need comes from him, so why not? He’s solid rock under my feet, breathing room for my soul, an impregnable castle: I’m set for life.” Psalm 62:1,2 MSG

Whatever your needs, the Holy Spirit, the parakletos, “the One who is called alongside,” is with you. He’s as close to you as your skin is to your flesh. Right now, ask Him to increase your faith. Be greedy for that faith that comes from God! I’ll gladly lend my ancient family motto to you: foi est tout. Faith—in God—is everything.