5
Faith Is for All Things
I
wish I could promise that when you walk by faith in God, your life becomes easy and you will no longer have to face challenging or dangerous circumstances. I’d love for this to be the truth, but it’s not. Even though we are Christians, we still live in a world that is under a curse, and as long as we are walking on this planet, we are going to have to deal with that curse. We are going to face weather crises like hurricanes, floods, tsunamis, and earthquakes. We will need to fight drought, starvation, and disease epidemics, and we will witness sin abounding in the world around us.
But here’s the promise we as Christians
do
have. In John 16:33, Jesus tells us, “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation, trials, distress, and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.]” (AMP). Because of these words from Christ, what I can promise is when we walk by faith and put our trust in God, no matter what situation we might face, we will have the ability to overcome it.
For those who are facing economic pressures, there is hope in God. For those who are walking through emotional scars and pain from the past, or who are dealing with sickness and disease, there is healing in God. For those who are facing failure in business or marriage or ministry, there is restoration to be found in God. For those dealing with addiction to drugs, alcohol, or pornography, there is deliverance in the name of Jesus.
Whatever
the trial or tribulation, if we will choose to operate in faith, to put our trust in God, we will be able to experience victory in our lives.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, and strength to your bones” (Proverbs 3:5-8). This sounds so right and easy, but in actuality, it is very difficult to actually walk out. We like to “lean on our own understanding,” in other words, have our own opinion, perspective, or way of thinking. When we face a situation, whether it is good or bad, we have thoughts and beliefs about it, and we act accordingly.
Whatever
the trial or tribulation, if we will choose to operate in faith, to put our trust in God, we will be able to experience victory in our lives.
We’re funny creatures, too, because we want to believe we are right at all cost. If it is pointed out that what we believe is incorrect, even if the explanation makes perfect sense, we don’t want to admit we are wrong. Somehow, that would translate into something is wrong with
us
. We have trouble accepting that we can be wrong and still be good people. If we live our lives caught in this trap, and face every circumstance and every decision by leaning on our own understanding, we will miss so much of what God has for us. “In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.”
It takes more faith to admit we don’t have the answer than to make something up. It requires more faith to say “I have no idea why this is happening, but I’m still going to trust in God anyway” than it does to fabricate some kind of pseudo-spiritual answer. When I graduated Bible College, I had all my eschatology sorted out. I knew when the Rapture was coming and had figured out the millennium and all the various aspects of the last days. After thirty years of studying the Bible since then, I have come to the understanding that I know nothing. The more I learn, the more I know how little I actually know! Now, I don’t even try to figure it all out. I just trust in God.
When Wendy and I were married in the late 1970s, we read a few books on relationships, took a few classes, and we thought we had this whole marriage thing figured out. We were confident we had everything we needed to make this thing work. While we have faced every challenge together and are stronger and more in love than ever, I still think I know less about how relationships work today than ever before. As our family grew and our kids matured, we kept facing new challenges. Throughout it all, I learned, and I am
still
learning. It just never gets to the place where you know everything and you have it all “figured out.” Every day, we simply put our trust in God. We don’t lean on our own understanding, and in all our ways, we acknowledge Him, and He directs our paths.
We would be in trouble if we walked through our lives only by our own understanding. Every day we use inventions, gadgets, cars, and computers, and we have no idea how they work. Most of us have barely any knowledge of the technology we use throughout our day—but we don’t let that stop us. We still enjoy these things in our workplaces, in our schools, and in our homes. Can you imagine how difficult our day-to-day experiences would be if we refused to use any product or invention that we did not have complete understanding of? We wouldn’t even be able to get out of the door every morning! We wouldn’t be able to use the microwave, the hair dryer, the car, or the cell phone. And our food—just like I said in the last chapter when I was talking about my vitamins—we have no understanding how all our food is made and packaged or what the eighty-seven ingredients are in our energy drinks—but we consume them anyway.
So why is it when it comes to the things of God that we believe we have to figure everything out before we trust? If we are willing to
not
lean on our own understanding when it pertains to the products of the world, why do we insist we have to grasp every spiritual concept before we will embrace it and trust in it? I cannot tell you how many times someone has told me they were not going to tithe because they could not figure out how God was going to help them prosper because they dropped a check in the offering bucket. Yet they trust the mystery meat in the hamburger at their favorite fast-food joint.
Here’s a better idea: Let’s choose to trust in God at least as much as we trust in the world. Let’s put our faith in His ways, even when we don’t fully comprehend them. He’s the God of the Universe who loves us, who gave His Son to die for us, who is ready to move Heaven and Earth for us, and is patiently waiting to spend all of eternity with us—I think we can trust Him. Let’s not be wise in our own eyes, let’s lean not on our own understanding, but in all our ways, let’s acknowledge Him and then sit back and see what exciting things He can do in our lives.