Crazy faith

Luke 18: 1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’

4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”

6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

I have found that there are some things that are easier for us to have faith concerning. We know when a problem arises in a particular area of our life we find ourselves praying and encouraging ourselves with ease. However, there are other times where we find ourselves simultaneously unhappy with the situation whilst demonstrating little faith for God to change it. I myself have been reflecting on the areas of life I find incredibly easy to have great faith in. For example, one area for me is in the place of my career. I have no doubt that although I'm currently in a middle leadership position in the area of education, at the right time God will open a door for another promotion. I believe in God so much that I am willing to make calculated yet bold risks towards this belief and work hard to prepare for it. However, this month I have been in deep reflection about the areas of my life that my actions show I have stopped believing God for. I read Luke 18 and I wondered to myself, what are my needs that I no longer cry to God day and night for? What things have I accepted that actually I need to reject and vice versa? Ultimately, I concluded that, a life that does not line up with God's ultimate desire for me is a life half lived. I need the fullest.

As I was reflecting on how we could ever cultivate faith to believe in the hard things, the below points came to mind.

1) Becoming aware of God's promises

Simply put... we don't know what we don't know. There is no way for me to know that the anxiety isn't what God wants for me unless I read scriptures such as "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind" Acts 20:24. Faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17). A key ingredient of being able to pray the hard things is by reading scripture. It changes our perception and causes us to realise that some of the things we have considered our lot, God does not intend them to be. Scripture aligns our expectations and helps us to recognise the things that God has actually promised us in His word versus false promises promoted by false teachers.

2) Having a correct perception of God

In the book of John chapter 11, Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. What I love about this scripture is that Jesus performs the miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead in verse 43. From verse 1-42, Jesus is working on the mindset of those around him and challenging their unbelief concerning Jesus' ability to raise Lazarus from the dead. When Jesus first says He wants to travel to Judea where Lazarus' body was laid, the disciples response was to remind Jesus that the Jews are trying to stone Him. Then Jesus began to talk about resurrecting Lazarus in a symbolic fashion, but the disciples could not fathom that Jesus was going to Judea to resurrect. When Jesus meets Martha on His way to Judea, Jesus told Martha that Lazarus would rise. Her response was that she knows Lazarus would rise on the resurrection day, highlighting that at that point she couldn't conceive that Jesus was speaking of a resurrection now. Jesus weeps for Lazarus and the mourners questioned Jesus power. Jesus later asks for the stone to be rolled away, Martha responds that he has been dead for four days. There were many back and forth's Jesus had with his disciples and the mourners where He highlighted His power, authority and desire in the midst of their uncertainty. Jesus even lovingly in Verse 41-43, prays out loud to God the Father so that people believe the act that Jesus is about to do is in the authority of God the Father.

God wants us to see him correctly. Sometimes we struggle to believe in God for the hard things because we don't have a correct understanding of who God is. God does what He does for us, ultimately because of His very nature. Our actions as humans demonstrate our heart and so does God's promises. When we make God small, like the disciples we will dictate His jurisdiction. We end up telling God where and when He can go, instead of allowing Him full access to our lives.

3) Having a correct perception of self

In Numbers 13:2, God spoke to Moses and said “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel". The promise within the scripture is that God is giving the Israelites the land of Canaan. However, the report that the spies gave to the rest of the Israelites incorrectly emphasises the people who currently dwell in the land. The spies describe them as "strong" and the city as "fortified and large". This report shows that despite the Israelites being backed by the God of Israel, they did not perceive themselves as strong and importantly strong enough to take the city. When we have an incorrect perception of self, like the Israelites in the book of Exodus, we will struggle to enter into the promise lands. We self sabotage ourselves out of God's promises. When we recognise all the beautiful attributes of God, we see that as His children we have the honour of possessing many of those attributes too. We believe because of who He is and we possess because of what He has.

Reflection activity

To end, here are a set of questions that you can explore in your time with God. Pray that God will reveal unlocked parts of your soul through His Holy Spirit.

1. What areas of my life do I find easy to believe God for?

2. How does this belief show up? (i.e. what external actions do you do that show your internal belief)

2. What areas of my life do I find it hard to believe God for?

3. Why do I find it hard to believe God concerning the above?

4. How does this unbelief show up? (i.e. what external actions do you do/don't do that show your internal belief)