Faith in the Unseen
One of the biggest pain points we struggle with is the negative side of faith-the wondering, the fear, the doubt that God can and will do the thing we ask or expect. To make it worse, sometimes we don’t hear an answer or see any evidence of God working in the situation.
Is God asleep on the job? Is He ignoring me? Am I asking for the wrong things?
These are all normal questions. You are not alone if you’ve asked them at any point in your life. And, more than likely, you’ve asked them at multiple points in life.
Let’s go back to basics and start first with a simpler question. What is faith?
The very essence of faith is trust in the midst of a lack of knowledge or control. Faith is not mustering up a lot of belief. Faith is being able to cling to a minuscule amount of belief, even (and especially) when hope is lost and evidence is null.
I have this sign in my room that I picked up from the store years ago. It spoke to me then and still speaks to me now. It reads, “Faith is trusting in what we can’t see”.
As a planner, I usually need to see evidence of progress in a situation in order for me to keep moving forward and hoping for the intended outcome. But life doesn’t always go according to plan, does it? Many things, whether good or bad, come our way without any warning or expectation. And it’s those bad, unexpected things where we need faith.
This little sign reminds me to hold onto faith in the uncertain times when I can’t see any progress towards a good outcome.
So, what is faith? Faith is our assurance that God is at work, at all times, in all circumstances.
Consider with me the story of Noah and the Ark, found in Genesis 6-8.
God tells Noah that He is going to flood the earth to rid it of all the wicked people; but He would spare Noah and his small family because of their righteousness. God instructs Noah to build a massive ark that will house his family and a selection of animals.
Now, this whole idea of constant rain and flooding would have seemed absolutely absurd to Noah! Humanity had not yet seen anything like it. Regardless, Noah took God’s words and instructions by faith.
In chapter 7 we see that God told Noah it would rain for 40 days and 40 nights. It’s the number we’ve all had in our minds for how long the flood lasted. However, Noah and his family did not walk off that ark on day 41. The rain went on for 40 days, yes, but the last verse of chapter 7 tells us that “the waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days”.
I’m sure Noah was more righteous and faithful than myself, but if God told me it would rain for 40 days and I was still sitting on that ark come day 60, or 100, or 125, I’d be doubting God’s words and complaining that He had either lied or was bailing on the promises He made.
But look at what we see in the very next line of Scripture. Genesis 8:1, “But God remembered Noah”. He sent a wind that forced the waters to begin to subside. He was not bailing on His promise, He was faithful through it all.
What we don’t often think about with this story is that God had to prepare the earth again for life after a worldwide flood. That took some time! The waters had to subside, the earth needed to heal from all the damage, and new life needed to begin to grow again. All before Noah’s family and the animals could step off that ark. It would certainly not have been ready on day 41.
Faith requires patience as God prepares us and prepares our situation. Noah had God’s words and promise before the flood happened, but it was silent throughout the rain and long after until the water subsided. It would have been easy to lose faith in the silence and the waiting, but He didn’t.
In our own lives, what may seem like inactivity, silence, or unanswered prayers on God’s end may just be that He is still preparing us or preparing our situation to fit into what He has already promised and planned for us.
As I sat through my church service yesterday we sang a song that reminded me of the joy and security in placing faith in God. Here are some of the lyrics:
“I’ve never been more glad that I put my faith in Jesus
Cause He’s never let me down
He’s faithful through generations
So why would He fail now?
He won’t”
Hindsight really is 20/20. When we are afraid or uncertain of God’s faithfulness in the future, we can be comforted by looking at His faithfulness in the past. Has He ever failed? No. So we can believe that our situation will not be any different.
I can’t promise you that God will answer your specific request in the exact way you want it answered. But I can promise you that God will never cease to love you, care for you, and provide for you. He will never stop working, or planning, or redeeming the things of your life to bring about your good.
Play this song on repeat if you’re struggling in your faith. And when those doubts creep in, when the silence is terrifying, when the outcome looks grim, just whisper this prayer: “He won’t fail”.
“Firm Foundation (He Won’t)” by Cody Carnes
-Stephanie Lauren Auman
