I wonder what kept some of our faith heroes from rolling their eyes at God.
Like when God told Noah, “So make yourself an ark…”
I think I would have muttered a quick, “Wait. What? You’ve got to be kidding me.”
But “Noah did everything just as God commanded him.”
And when God appeared to Abram, who with his wife Sarai so badly wanted a child. God told him to “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them…So shall your offspring be.” (Abram was 99 years old; Sarai was 90.)
I think I may have laughed out loud if I was Abram.
(By the way, don’t you just love that God added, “…if you are able to number them…”? He was clearly making a point, right?)
But “Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.”
I want that kind of faith. You too?
The kind of faith that looks around and sees nothing that remotely suggests that my prayers are going to be answered, and yet I believe that God is going to show up and answer them. In His perfect way.
The kind of faith that does not focus on circumstances, or the mountains of evidence that says the situation is getting worse. Instead, it focuses on The One who hears my prayers, and who wants what’s best for my family, friends, and me.
I want the kind of faith that remembers that the same God who performed miracles thousands of years ago is the same God who performs miracles today.
Are you looking for answers? Miracles? I bet you are. Me too.
“Have faith” is not simply a phrase to write on a meme, or a glib “feel good” message that we say when we can’t find the right words.
Faith is “simply acting like God is telling the truth. It’s not feeling that God is telling the truth. It’s not saying that God is telling the truth. Faith is acting like God is telling the truth.” (Tony Evans Study Bible)
How do we find that kind of faith?
By keeping our eyes on Jesus. He gives it to us.
Which means that we don’t need to rehash, re-live, or analyze the situation to death. That just keeps us messed up. And it doesn’t help.
I fix my eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of my faith…” (Hebrews 12:1-2 made personal).
Oh, my friend.
That unanswered prayer that seems to get heavier every day?
God is working on it and in it. He has heard your tears, your pleas, your heart. He has not checked out.
Look to HIM. Choose to trust HIM. Fill your soul and your mind with His promises. (Which means, read the Bible. For real. Those pages are filled with powerful, life-changing words)
Refuse to listen to the lies.
Replace them with truth:
God is faithful.
God is working.
God is trustworthy.
God will never abandon me.
God cares about the people I care about a gazillion times greater than I do.
God sees and He knows.
Let’s show up in faith today. Believing. Trusting. Shifting our focus from the circumstances to our Almighty, All-Knowing, All-Loving God.
Don’t give up.
Don’t get tangled in the messiness.
Fix your eyes on Jesus.
You matter to Him.
