Faith without Doubt
"Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will you give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in Heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him." Luke 11:11-13
"The Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.' For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!'" And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will no God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?" Luke 11:1-8
"When you cannot hear God, you will find that He has trusted you in the most inimate way possible- with absolute silence, not a silence of despair, but one of pleasure, because He saw that you could withstand an even bigger revelation. If God has given you a silence, then praise Him- He is bringing you into the mainstream of His purposes... If Jesus Christ is bringing you into the understanding that prayer is for the glorifying of His Father, then He will give you the first sign of His intimacy- silence." Oswald Chambers
"Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!" Psalm 143:10
"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind." James 1:5-6
Ok so my thoughts...
I laid awake on my bed the night that my mom responded to my email. I stared at the brick wall in a state of numbness and sadness. What happened? I remembered earlier that day, as my blood pumped hard through my veins, hands trembling, in eager anticipation of what God was going to do with her. Our God is a powerful God- He works in this world and He's going to heal my mom! After I picked up the phone, every word seemed to build upon a crushing weight on my dampened spirit. My blood cooled down, and I thought, maybe God doesn't work in this world, maybe it doesn't matter to pray for Him to change things here. I think my heart broke as I began to realize what that meant. If God doesn't work in this world, then He's not God. If I don't believe He can change things, then why am I living for Him? Why do I worship Him... why do I pray to Him? So I layed there, and out of no where, almost audibly, I heard James 1:6. So for the first time it was real to me- what it felt like to be a wave in the sea, blown and tossed by waves of doubt. Only hours ago my heart was racing in the realization that God answers prayer, and now, as I lay here, doubt has brought me one of the lowest feelings I have ever experienced. That's what doubt does to you.
On Wednesday, Jenn brought up James 1:6-7. We wondered what it looked like to have faith like that. Then we thought that maybe, that kind of faith is unaltered by waht the world says. That kind of faith is like the persistent widow. That kind of faith perseveres, even to the day of Christ's return- will He return to find you enaffected by the world's criticism? Will you believe God, even when everything around you tells you that He's not there or not listening? I think that's what that kind of faith is all about.
"The Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.' For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!'" And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will no God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?" Luke 11:1-8
"When you cannot hear God, you will find that He has trusted you in the most inimate way possible- with absolute silence, not a silence of despair, but one of pleasure, because He saw that you could withstand an even bigger revelation. If God has given you a silence, then praise Him- He is bringing you into the mainstream of His purposes... If Jesus Christ is bringing you into the understanding that prayer is for the glorifying of His Father, then He will give you the first sign of His intimacy- silence." Oswald Chambers
"Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!" Psalm 143:10
"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind." James 1:5-6
Ok so my thoughts...
I laid awake on my bed the night that my mom responded to my email. I stared at the brick wall in a state of numbness and sadness. What happened? I remembered earlier that day, as my blood pumped hard through my veins, hands trembling, in eager anticipation of what God was going to do with her. Our God is a powerful God- He works in this world and He's going to heal my mom! After I picked up the phone, every word seemed to build upon a crushing weight on my dampened spirit. My blood cooled down, and I thought, maybe God doesn't work in this world, maybe it doesn't matter to pray for Him to change things here. I think my heart broke as I began to realize what that meant. If God doesn't work in this world, then He's not God. If I don't believe He can change things, then why am I living for Him? Why do I worship Him... why do I pray to Him? So I layed there, and out of no where, almost audibly, I heard James 1:6. So for the first time it was real to me- what it felt like to be a wave in the sea, blown and tossed by waves of doubt. Only hours ago my heart was racing in the realization that God answers prayer, and now, as I lay here, doubt has brought me one of the lowest feelings I have ever experienced. That's what doubt does to you.
On Wednesday, Jenn brought up James 1:6-7. We wondered what it looked like to have faith like that. Then we thought that maybe, that kind of faith is unaltered by waht the world says. That kind of faith is like the persistent widow. That kind of faith perseveres, even to the day of Christ's return- will He return to find you enaffected by the world's criticism? Will you believe God, even when everything around you tells you that He's not there or not listening? I think that's what that kind of faith is all about.
posted by Monika at 10/20/2005 02:57:00 PM
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