I’ve been wondering how come it’s so easy to have faith in people but not in God? It’s strange isn’t it? The bible says:
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
So what does that mean? What is faith exactly? Faith is going for a job interview, hoping that you will ace the interview and then getting the job. The boss says, “You are going to start tomorrow, be here at 9 and the pay will be $1500 a week.” The next day you came to work at 8:45 (impression and preparation are everything). You work that day and 9 more days before a check appears in your hand for 1.5k minus taxes. That’s faith. Now faith is the substance (work) of things hoped for (the job), the evidence (a paycheck!) of things not seen(10 days later). You worked in advance, hoping that at the end what they boss told you they were going to pay you, they would.
Most people don’t have great faith. We’ve been disappointed enough to know that not everyone/everything comes through. God does come though. Here is a story from the bible
Matthew17:14 And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.” 17 Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. 21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
Okay, so here’s the story, the disciples didn’t have the faith even collectively to heal a boy who was an epileptic. Why? Jesus said it was because of their unbelief. He said that if we had faith as a mustard seed we could have things move in our lives. The mustard seed is the smallest seed, it’s tiny, smaller than a peppercorn. So we only need a tiny bit of it to move the mountains in our lives. We only have to believe a little bit.
The problem I am seeing is that we have faith and patience to wait for the paycheck from our job but if God doesn’t snap to it, we give up! Don’t give up on that thing you are believing for. Don’t give up on that job you want or that promotion, don’t give up on that marriage and don’t give up on that baby.
Sometimes the answer is no. The Apostle Paul asked for God to heal him from an affliction. The bible doesn’t say what the affliction was and it doesn’t even matter. God said no. Almighty God answered Mighty Apostle Paul, “My grace is sufficient.” In other words, “I am taking care of you and you’re fine just as you are. These times are disappointing but not fatal.
Sometimes the answer is yes but it takes a long time in coming. We get desperate for an answer but God is coming with one. Sarah and Abraham had to wait years and years to have a baby but God had said yes and so they waited. The wait paid off in their old age when their son Isaac was born. Can you imagine the joy?
Don’t lose hope. Don’t get impatient. God is moving in your life and he will answer you. Have a little faith!
Pastor Susan 