A Lesson In Faith and Hope

This blog post has been a long time coming.

Awhile ago Joeby and I were going on a "date"... As we drove away from the house, he looked up at the dvd player in the van (which had been known to us as "broken" for awhile now) and he said, "Mommy, lets watch a movie!" So, I told him, "Buddy, don't you remember, that has been broken for awhile now." He quickly responded, "I know Mom, but Jesus can heal it!"

My initial response was both shock and pride. My son's faith was strong and right on! Jesus could heal it!

So, without hesitation I said, "You know what Buddy, you're right! And Jesus loves when we have great faith and He works mightily when we step out in faith so let's pray together for Jesus to touch our dvd player." *mind you, this is not the first time we have prayed over "silly little" issues with our car in particular and we have seen amazing miracles in even the *silly little* things. My initial thought was, "Hey maybe God is using this as a time to show Himself to my son as he has such faith in His power!"

But, this time as we finished praying and I opened the dvd player up and put in a dvd there was no change.

Blank screen and blank faces.

This reminded me of a valuable life lesson.

What do we do when our God "fails" us or in the very least, "fails" to answer our requests?

Faith in our circumstances will almost always let us down and leave us with questions.

Faith in our God will always leave us with hope and filled with trust and joy and peace.

Sometimes faith is grown, tested and shown most in the circumstances when we have seen the least "answered" prayer. It is not always the times when we've seen the most miraculous happen, but when we have seen the least happening and still we hold unswervingly to the faith we have in Christ.

Hebrews 10:23New Living Translation (NLT)

23 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.

or this version

Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.

The most extreme example of this I've experienced in my own life has been when we lost Joeli. I feel sometimes like I'm always talking about her, but she has truly taught me so much I can't help but talk about the many things I have learned and ways I have grown through that time in my life. Anyway, when we found out we had lost her I remember being wheeled down that dark somber hospital hall and I felt bad for the nurse, because I didn't know if it would be awkward or not but everything in within my heart and soul was crying out to speak to God out loud in this dark time. So I asked her, "Do you mind if I pray out loud?" She said no and so I began just laying everything before God. I remember telling Him I knew He could even resurrect Joeli if He saw fit, but that I would trust Him and that ultimately I knew she was His and He has a plan even in this most difficult time. I told Him I would trust Him no matter what and my faith would not end in who He is and what He is able to do. Through that time my faith grew in unimaginable ways. I developed a fervor and boldness for the Lord. I grew in ways I know could have been accomplished outside of losing my daughter, but because of this time in my life and my desperate need and longing for Christs hope and truth I grew much. 

Sometimes the miracle is miraculous healing, and other times the miracle is holding on to our faith even when the miracle does not happen. I would argue, the greatest miracle is a deepening faith in the One who holds our very heartbeat in His grasp! 

And so, as all this was running through my mind I used this time as a life lesson for my sweet faith-filled son. I told him how sometimes God answers our prayers and sometimes He does not. But, He never changes and He is faithful to us and knows what is best for us and He loves us! So, when we face times of unanswered prayer, we can keep crying out to Him for miracles, but we can also trust Him when the miraculous does not yet happen that He is working on our behalf. And, we can lean in closer to Him for a deepening faith. 

And in telling my son these truths, it reminded my own heart to be aware. What am I putting my hope and faith in?

God, or circumstances?

So today, I want to ask you the same question friend. What are you putting your hope and faith in; God, or your circumstances? 

Much love,

Abi