Beyond the Porch Swing
How much faith is enough?
“Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.”
Genesis 15:6 NIV
Scrolling through my Facebook page, a video my cousin posted of her daughter shaving off her grandma’s (my aunt’s) hair, caught my attention. I was reminded of many people and families I know who are struggling through cancer or other trials, and need lifting to Jesus in prayer. Some nights when I’m praying, the burden of their pain has kept me awake. A few have already left this earth and are enjoying eternity with Jesus, while others are experiencing remission.
Many though, are just hanging on.
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“I believed. I believed with every fiber of my being, that God could heal my granddaughter.”
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While waiting for the birth and death of my granddaughter, their were people who would make comments like “if you had enough faith God would heal her”. Those comments hurt. How much faith is enough? Already it was faith in God being sovereign, He being all knowing, He being the Potter and we the clay, that allowed me to have any joy, peace, or boldness to face the day. How much more faith did I need? The phrase “Just believe” became popular around then and I still
cringe when I hear it. I believed. I believed, with every fiber of my being, that God could heal my granddaughter. But I also knew and believed “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.”
cringe when I hear it. I believed. I believed, with every fiber of my being, that God could heal my granddaughter. But I also knew and believed “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.”
Isaiah 55:8 NIV
https://www.bible.com/111/isa.55.8.niv
Yet here in Genesis 15:6, Abrams belief is the very thing that God counts as righteousness! What does believe mean? How does believing apply to our grieving situations? And the big question...didn’t I believe enough and it’s my fault my granddaughter died?
Let’s dig into this passage (Genesis 15:6) and Abraham’s story.
Abram himself (later God changed his name to Abraham), only fathered two sons. God promised him too many children to count. In the era of multiple wives and families of two or three dozen children, two kids didn’t look like God came through. Ishmael, the oldest, was sent away with his mother Hagar, and the other, Isaac, only had two sons, named Jacob and Esau. God’s whole “huge family for Abraham” thing had a very slow start. I’m guessing at times even Abraham wondered if he’d heard God right. We, thousands of years later, know he did. Abraham just had to watch his family grow from his view in heaven.
Also, Abram’s beliefs definitely had their ups and downs. I encourage you to read his roller coaster story in Genesis 12-25. Sometimes you just want to bonk Abe on the head and remind him how things turned out the previous time he was stupid, and didn’t believe the power and protection of God. It’s apparent being counted as righteous didn’t mean Abram’s belief was 100% resulting in lots of kids. However, it does mean God loved the attitude of his heart. The same goes for us.
There comes a time while grieving, after you’ve wrestled and wrestled with God, when you have to stop and listen. I call this soul listening. I’ll try and explain it.
It’s a listening not with our ears but from the depths of our soul. A laying down of human wants and a submission of our will. Soul listening, is a giving up of earthly hope and swapping it out for a deep, clinging hope in Him who is the I Am. A new hope which depends on God being God, Jesus being who He says He is, and the Holy Spirit’s promise to be present. We walk into the next unpleasant step fearful, but choosing to rest in the wisdom of God. Soul listening is intentional. An intentional focus on the truth of who God is, what He has done to prove this is true, and who He says we are. Then the wonderful result of a correct focus comes over us, peace. Yes, pain and grief are still present, but it’s balmed over with God’s soothing peace.
I can only do this when I’m believing truth about God’s character.
The remake of the movie Aladdin came out earlier this summer. I was reminded of how easy it is to think of God as a genie. But, God isn’t a big genie in the sky who’s waiting to grant me three wishes if my faith is strong enough. Thank goodness He isn’t! My humanity doesn’t allow me to have such a faith. If it would, I’d be perfect and all of life would depend on me. Life would become about me and how strong I am. My weakness could never surface. My faith could never fail because I’d let people down. No need for Jesus, it’d be “Janet to save the world”!
Thank God He’s the Creator and the One who holds everything together. People don’t live, die, get healed or remain sick because of me and my faith level. However, I get the privilege of joining God in His story. At times He shows His healing power, and, because I’ve been praying, I also get to experience joy seeing God’s amazing power. Other times I’m honored to pray for those who fight tough, earthly battles till Jesus relieves them, taking their hand as He walks, or carries them into heaven. What a sacred privilege that is. Such a powerful picture of the fullness and completeness of God. God takes our feeble attempts of faith, and counts that tiny, little, mustard seed of faith (Luke 17:6) as righteousness. He then does amazing things which are far beyond our imagination (Ephesians 3:20) through the powerful work of His Holy Spirit. These works may not look like much at the present time, but God isn’t limited to time. Meanwhile, we wrestle, listen, and rest in the fact that our God is I Am.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
John 1:1-5 NIV
“God said to Moses, “ I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘ I am has sent me to you.’ ” God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ “This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.”
Exodus 3:14-15 NIV
These verses are two of my favorites. They remind me of who God is, what He’s done and my position under Him. They humble me as I realize the honor of serving this God who holds all things together. I feel safe as I rest in the character of this God who calls me His child. I realize that because of Jesus’s shedding of blood on the cross, He looks at me and counts me as righteous!
What are you believing about God? Is it truth?
You can figure out your answer by looking at your actions. Are they reflecting Jesus? How are you viewing yourself? Is your self view God honoring? If not, in what way do you think God messed up? Who then is the God or god you are worshipping?
Now flip these questions. Who is God, what are His true characteristics? What has He done to proves He is truth? Who does He say you are? After telling yourself truth, how does that change your actions and attitudes?
Oh Father! I praise You for who You are! I praise You for how You hold everything together. I praise You for Your deep care for me. Thank You for Jesus, because it is His blood that covers my faulty faith and You count me as righteous!
For friends who’re in the middle of deep struggle, I lift them into Your arms. Cuddle them, soothe them, fill them with the hope of You. If You see fit, I’d love to see You heal their earthly bodies. Not so we can praise human efforts, but so we can see You’re above all things. You’re The Healer.
If You don’t choose earthly healing as the path for them, thank You for being Great. Cover them and their families with the hope You’ve given us through Christ Jesus’s precious blood. Soothe them with Your peace.
This walk of faith is hard. I head into an unknown future with knees shaking. Fear, lurks around every corner of my mind. Compared to my mustard seed of faith, I have truck loads of fear. But You still bless! I praise You for blessing my mustard seed of faith. I commit that scrap to You knowing You will do things far greater than I can ask or imagine because You are I Am!
Thank You for counting me righteous no matter what I do because of Jesus’ death. I pray You will enable me to live out of the truth of who You are, so my life will reflect You.
In the name of Jesus and through the power of His blood I pray these things.
Amen.
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