Testing Faith

I visited with an elderly woman today. She is dealing with a fractured vertebrae and cancer. She asked that I pray that her faith would be stronger.

As I talked with her I came to believe that her faith is pretty well grounded in Christ. She's a Christian. She loves the Lord. What bothers her is that she's uncertain about what she is going through. That uncertain translates into a lack of faith in her opinion.

Faith is a funny thing. You may think you have it but you really don't know until it is tested. There mere fact that faith is tested often shows the limits of our faith. Faithfulness is a lifelong journey. I express faith when I call on Jesus for salvation. That is a faith by which I am saved. Then there is the faith by which I live. Not necessarily a different faith but a different application of faith.

The faith by which I live strengthens (or fades) as I experience things that test my faith. For example, if I am laid off from my job and am unsure about how I will provide for my family, my faith grows when I confidently trust God to provide for us. Or my faith fades when I leave God out of the solution. If this test of my faith produces stronger faith, then I am prepared for greater tests in the future. The next time I'm laid off I probably won't struggle as much as the first time because my faith is strong enough to handle it - assuming my faith has not faded in the meantime.

But what if I am diagnosed with a serious disease? Is my faith strong enough for that? Maybe or maybe not. Once again, my faith is tested. The test is an opportunity for my faith to grow. Jesus asked the disciples why they had such little faith. It wasn't that they had no faith, just that their faith was smaller than the circumstance. When circumstances are bigger than our faith we can make two choices: we can focus on God and our faith grows or we can focus on the circumstance and our faith fades.

Faith passes the test when we can say in the face of uncertainties, "God will take care of this, too."

The woman I talked with today is facing that test of faith. I think she's passing the test. But I also think she is expressing the human uncertainty. That's normal when we face something new. For her, faith trumps uncertainty. She will have stronger faith because of this.

I don't know what you are facing today but I do know your faith will be tested. If not today, it will be soon. Everyone is in one of three places. You are facing a test. You just faced a test. Or you will soon be facing a test. Will you say, when facing the test, "God will take care of this, too"?

"Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" (Heb 11:1).

"You know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance" (James 1:3).

I hope you faith (and mine) grows.