Can I be real about some of the things that tempt us to turn away from the living God? There is this battle of questioning that we can sometimes experience after a loss. We may ask ourselves have we been walking in faith or denial?
Namely, this applies to when we are believing God for something in faith that does not happen. What do we do and what do we believe when we’ve believed God for something that it’s become clear to us just isn’t going to happen? Should we turn away from God and believe His Word isn’t true? Should we question whether God loves us because maybe He’s done what we were believing for someone else, but not us?
These are normal questions that come up in the human experience of life. In this life, we face serious and very real difficulties where we lose something. Yes, I said it, and it’s okay to realize that we’ve lost something whether a loved one, loss of use of our fully functioning due to illness, or other things, but life and faith isn’t over at our point of loss.
In the over-spiritualized name it and claim it culture, we sometimes live in denial of what’s really going on. Yes, I believe in living in faith, but I also believe in walking in humility in the circumstance that I am in.
The reality is God wants us to walk in faith, but sometimes we have to walk in a lower place of humility on our way to seeing what faith will produce in our lives. Faith, biblically defined, is the substance of what we hope for and the evidence of things unseen.
In other words, we can have hope, and believe God for a thing, but there is still an element of the unknown to our faith. We aren’t guaranteed that a thing will happen unless God specifically spoke on it. The unseen is just that unseen. We don’t know. There is a humility that is produced within us that comes from the unknown and the crushing of things not happening as we expected.
What we do know is that we are to live our lives trusting in God, depending and relying on God. In this trust, dependence and relying on God, what’s unseen will be manifested. It could be healing, stewardship over something greater than we imagined, or a disappointment. Things may go in a totally different direction than what we were believing for. It’s okay to admit and say that we don’t know, are disheveled, or confused when we are.
God forbid, those who once were believers would begin to turn their hearts against the Lord in hardness of heart because they named and claimed something where God said no. God’s promises are yes and amen. These are things he has promised personally. He promised Joseph personally that he would be in a position of authority over his brothers and He bought it to pass. Things God has not promised specifically to us; He can say no on―whether we name and claim it or not.
God watches over what He’s promised to perform it. That’s his Word. Anything else is unseen and unknown. I myself walked in denial believing God until the end to heal my father when God had already revealed that he would not live any further. Of course, I continued to believe in case the Lord changed his mind as he did with Hezekiah. God’s word stood however and I had to submit to it.
When God says no. We have to submit to it in humility continuing to believe in the Lord. We have to believe that all things work together for our good and that something good will come out of it. I recently heard an awesome message taught by Michael Todd on fading faith for those who’ve experienced loss while trying to believe. He shared how those people needed a personal tangible touch from God. That has been a personal prayer I’d shared with the Lord after my real loss.
I can say that I’ve experienced the Lord walking with me and reassuring me of his presence during this time in such a real way. I believe that it’s helped me not to walk in denial of how I feel, or what I’ve experienced that allows me to continue to walk in faith.
Don’t allow anyone to make you feel ashamed, unspiritual, or lacking in faith for being real about the genuine loss you’ve experienced. God cares about your loss and how you feel. Most importantly, God cares about how we see him because this determines if we’ll be able to believe in him. God isn’t afraid of your honesty as you express the real emotions of your loss. If you feel frustrated, let down, or confused, let God know. Reach out to him so you too can continue to walk in faith over denying him.
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