Faith is hard to hold onto when you’ve got nothing else to hold onto.
It’s easy to believe that God is Jehovah-Jireh, He provides for you, when you have a job and a steady stream of income. But what if that stream dried up? What if you lost you’re job and you’re the only breadwinner in your family? What if you can’t find a job after graduating top of your class and sending out a hundred resumes?
It’s easy to believe that we’re healed by the blood of Christ when medicine works. But what if it didn’t work? What if there’s no cure and no treatment? What if the only hope for your diagnosis is to dump ice water on yourself to raise awareness and get funding for research?
It’s easy to believe that the Lord protects us when we’re safe. But what if you’re literally running for your life? What if you’re being hunted down for your beliefs? What if your child was executed by extremists to set an example?
It’s easy to believe that God guides your path when you have a support system in place. But what if you’re going at it alone? What if people stopped walking beside you because they disagree? What if nobody is cheering you on? Instead, they are telling you you’re wrong.
“Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see” Hebrews 11:1 (NLT).
Faith is not easy. If it was, it’s not faith (because then we tend to rely on ourselves instead of God). Faith is engaged when we’ve got nothing. Faith is what we have when it’s hard to believe. It’s our confidence, our assurance, our evidence. Faith is when all we’ve got is God.
I’ve always found it easier to cry out to God and strain to hear His voice when I’ve hit rock bottom. When I’ve got nothing else to lose. When self-reflection, petition, and insecurities collide with each other at night, when I’m most vulnerable, that’s when I often hear God’s whispers. His love and voice cuts through every noise and speaks peace to my heart and allows me to rest in His arms.
But that’s all I have. The still, small voice of God. His promises tenderly given to my spirit and plainly written in His Word. That’s all I have. They’re all I hope on. They are what gives me peace and rest. And they’re enough.
God is more than enough for each one of us. That doesn’t mean life will sail by smoothly. It doesn’t mean you won’t die at the hands of an incurable disease or by the guns of evil. It doesn’t mean you won’t struggle or go through pain. It doesn’t even mean you won’t ever have doubts, fears, or insecurities. It means, God will cut through the noise to reach you.
At your wit’s end. When all your buttons have been pushed. With nowhere else to go and nobody else to turn to. God is right there beside you.
Engage your faith by:
- Praying. “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” Mark 11:24 (NIV).
- Reading His Word. “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” John 15:7 (NIV).
- Resting in the Lord. “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. For the wicked will be destroyed, but those who trust in the Lord will possess the land” Psalm 37:7 & 9 (NIV).
- Meditating on God. “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” Isaiah 26:3 (NLT).
- Spending time with other believers. “I love to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong – that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith” Romans 1:11-12 (NIV).
My prayer for you is strength from Christ to hold on. Whatever you’re going through, hold on. Faith is not easy: to believe in what you cannot see and the Faith, Christianity. They’re hard, but that’s the point. We can’t do it alone. We can’t save ourselves. We can’t hope in our abilities. We need God and we have Him! We. Have. God.
Hold on, friend, because God is with you and you are not alone.
Linking up today with Monday’s Musings.
