What I know about faith

You may think that seeing a lot of answers to prayer is what increases your faith.  And it can and does.

But did you know that there is another way that God uses to increase our faith and trust in Him?  That is, by not answering our prayers.  

That's right!  But how can that be? Well first off, faith is the assurance of things unseen.  That means the answer is not seen yet!  

Let's look back at our dear friend, Job.  Job was a righteous man, a blessed man.  He loved God.  Yet when the devil asked God's permission to torment Job, steal things from him, the Lord gave the devil permission to "have at it," except he couldn't touch Job's life.

And boy, did the devil have at it!  He pretty much destroyed and/or took away everything and everyone in Job's life, including possessions and family.

Was Job any less blessed?  Some Christians would say yes if this happened to them.

But God always has the bigger picture in mind.  And that bigger picture always involves our faith.

Our faith is precious to the Lord;  more precious, dare I say, than any relationships or possessions we may have.  

God sees "blessings" in a whole other sphere.  God was after something in Job.  God allowed the enemy to have his way in Job's surroundings only to eventually build up Job, not tear him down.

Same holds true for us.  Whenever "bad" things happen, as they are wont to do, we can either feel cursed or still believe that God is blessing us in the tragedy in ways that we cannot see or understand.  Remember, faith is the evidence of things unseen.

In the end, Job's faith increased as a result of his horrific ordeals.  You see, there is always a choice.  We can be like Job's wife who wanted Job to give up on God already.  Or we can remain faithful and true like Job.

Job was already a righteous man in the beginning of his story.  But Job really knew God after he went through the hell that he did.

He saw God's majesty, God's Sovereignty in a whole new light, at a deeper level. 

Remember, it's all about knowing God in this life.  So God can do or allow whatever He wills in order for us to know Him more deeply.  At the root of it all is simply His great desire to be close to us, for us to have a more intimate relationship with Him.

This always blows my mind; how the Creator God of all universes wants to know me and be known by me!

Let's look at the last chapter, chapter 42, of the book of Job:

1 Then Job replied to the Lord:

2 “I know that you can do all things;

    no purpose of yours can be thwarted.

3 You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’

    Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,

    things too wonderful for me to know.

4 “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak;

    I will question you,

    and you shall answer me.’

5 My ears had heard of you

    but now my eyes have seen You."

I emphasize verse 5 because it is so profoundly beautiful.  Job thought he knew God before his troubles.  But now he is realizing he had only heard of Him, but didn't really know Him.  

After his ordeals, Job saw God.  "My eyes have seen You."  He also knew that no purpose of God's could be thwarted (v. 2).  

That is an awesome revelation for us to know!  That means when "bad" things happen to or around us, we can know, like Job, that God's purpose always prevails!  Any attack from the enemy has been Sovereignly allowed by Omnipotent God for His purposes.

Yes, God allows "bad things to happen to good people."  But never willy nilly.  Always with a divine purpose behind it.

This is the gift of our faith:  when we come to know God and still believe in Him and trust Him no matter what.  When unanswered prayers leave us in predicaments that hurt, we can trust Omnipotent God to know exactly what He is doing.  He is testing and growing our faith, which is more precious to Him than gold.  

And that is how faith is really grown - not only and always through answered prayers, but through still trusting God in all of the wreckage.  

Oh God.  You are truly too marvelous to comprehend.  Your ways are beyond understanding. But Your character is comprehensible!  You are true, loving, gracious, all-powerful, all-wise - the list is endless! So we know that we can trust You no matter what.  Thank You for answered prayers and unanswered prayers, as we sit back and watch You do the work in and around us that only You can do!  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.