Faith
by Becky Rule
I'm learning that faith is not requiring that all the factors line up in my
head, not demanding that things are reasonable before proceeding. God has gently
shown me that things do not have to make sense. Sometimes things will make sense
to us, but that is not something we can count on. We have become so
"reasonable" in our Christianity. I have noticed that the times in
scripture when the Pharisees "reasoned," things didn't turn out
favorably. They were constantly reasoning and arriving at the wrong conclusions.
God has shown me that faith is not believing what my head (my mind) tells me to
believe. If His ways and thoughts are so much higher than ours, why do we try to
reason based on our limited experience, perspective, knowledge, and wisdom?
Sometimes my head tells me I'm not doing enough: not making significant
enough contributions to my spiritual growth, to God's kingdom, to the world, to
my family, to my church. Common sense tells me trusting God alone cannot be the
way. I reason that this cannot be what God meant. That we simply cannot survive
on faith alone is another thing I keep hearing from my head. I recently read an
article on fund-raising that stated that faith-based ministry is not prevalent
because it has been found to be ineffective in our society since World War II.
It makes me wonder when God began being dependent upon society. However, I
cannot judge how God has led other ministries to gain their support.
Mike and I have noticed how for some the most humbling thing is to overcome
self-sufficiency by seeking help. For others the most humbling thing is to
overcome self-sufficiency by keeping quiet because they know their capabilities
and tendencies toward facing situations head-on. Because God is concerned about
our hearts, He custom designs our paths to go directly to what humbles our
pride. For some, that direction is speaking out; for others it is staying
silent. The gospels give us a picture of this as we see how Jesus handles
different people in similar situations. Some disciples he called. Is it possible
others had to ask to come along? Some people begged to receive healing. Some
followed Him, yelling for mercy. Some He went to. Some He asked, "What do
you want Me to do for you?" God knows our hearts and does what He knows
will yield true good-maturity and a dependence upon Him. I personally find great
encouragement in George Mueller's statement: "Yet in these days God listens
to prayer and is the same in power and love as ever." Jesus is the same
yesterday, today and forever. It always comes back to faith.
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