Have Faith in God

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"For every beast of the forest is Mine, And the cattle on a thousand hills." Psalm 50:10



Is it just me or are others also having a hard time getting through this never ending winter? Every day we hear more and more bad news. Sometimes we pray for a situation and do not see anything happen. This can go on for years. I thought about this today as I trekked through the slush and puddles covering the soggy ground, up to the shopping plaza in my town. The sky was an endless hue of gray, but it felt warmer than it had in days and just getting out of the house gave me a small lift in my spirit.

I thought to myself, how do I reconcile the fact that sometimes it seems no answer comes to my prayers? One little verse popped out in my mind: "Have faith in God." Four simple words, but they convey, oh, so much.

Those words are found in Mark 11, in the lesson Jesus gave about the withered fig tree.

20 Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.
21 And Peter, remembering, said to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.”
22 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God.
23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.
24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them."

Yes, but.

That thought entered into my head, but quickly I came up with an answer to my doubt as to the validity of Jesus' statement. There is an answer when I seem to have unanswered prayers. In times when we cannot see what God is doing in our lives, it is time to let our faith in God's ultimate goodness encourage us to stand our ground and fight the good fight of faith.

Right now, we see through a mirror dimly (I Cor. 13:12). But we have thousands of magnificent promises (II Peter 1:4) from the Word of God, promises we can claim even if we don't see their answer. What is faith anyway? It is being sure of something we cannot see, and it is the only thing that pleases God.

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1
"But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." Hebrews 11:6

We are living in unprecedented times. The wheels are turning quickly to the day when Jesus will come back to gather His church to their heavenly home, and fight for His people Israel when all the world goes against them. We are given each day to believe when we don't see, to have confidence in the perfect essence of God: His unfailing love and mercy, forgiveness for our sins, and hope for a glorious future.

The key is to get to know the promises and claim them now. We must do this for ourselves. We will not need the promises when we get to the eternal state. No, the promises are for now.

"We never question how He works, once we know Him for who He is. When I gain the treasure of knowing Him, I can well afford to trust Him." Miles J. Stanford

Have faith in God!