Inside: As time drags on and it seems like nothing ever changes, it helps to remember a few key truths about faith, feelings and God’s faithfulness. ~

When it comes to faith, I often find it easier to trust God in the middle of my own struggles than it is to wait for Him to come to the rescue of someone I love.

I don’t know why this is. I just know that it happens

Maybe it’s because I don’t like to wait. I look up movie spoilers in the middle of the show. I always read the end of the book first.

Perhaps it’s a control or trust issue.

Only Human

Or maybe I’m just a finite human being who longs for a happy ending—and an easy way to get there. I’m guessing I’m not the only one, either.

We can’t make God answer our prayers in the way we want, when we want. We can’t force an outcome.

We might like to, but we can’t.

We also can’t make other people respond how we might respond—or how we think we might respond—to any given trial. While God offers only one way to salvation, He relates to each mind and heart in a unique way, much like any other loving parent interacts with his or her children individually.

What’s Taking So Long?

God’s plans for each of us are for our good. I believe this, and you probably do too.

Not in a cliche, pat-answer kind of way, but deep down—in that place where we trust His sovereignty even when the plans He unfolds don’t make any sense to us and might even seem to be the opposite of good.

But as time drags on and nothing changes—at least nothing that’s readily apparent—it’s easy to wonder.

What’s taking so long? What’s the point of all this? Is healing ever going to come?

Fickle Feelings

It’s possible these questions stem from doubt or a lack of faith. But often, they’re based on feelings, which are fickle. They ebb and flow, depending on all kinds of internal and external stimuli.

Faith, on the other hand, is based on a relationship with God, which is eternal.

I believe every word of Jeremiah 32:17: “Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.”

God could remedy in an instant the situations in which our loved ones find themselves. When He doesn’t, it makes us sad to see them struggling or suffering. To feel otherwise would be somewhat less than human, I think.

What Faith Is

And sadness does not indicate an absence or lack of faith. Faith has nothing to do with feelings, in fact. According to Hebrews 11:1, it’s “being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”

We can’t see what’s going on behind the curtain, but we do know there’s not a fake wizard back there. The God who is working in the lives of our loved ones is the same God who was with Jeremiah and all the other Old Testament prophets—the very same ones who wondered when God was going to act and yet wrote so eloquently about His compassion, protection, mercy and justice.

So while we keep praying for Him to move, let’s encourage our hearts with this truth: that “the God of all grace, who called [us] to His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will personally restore, establish, strengthen, and support [us] after you have suffered a little.” (1 Peter 5:10)

♥ Lois

P.S. I’m linking up this week with #tellhisstory, InstaEncouragements, Let’s Have Coffee and Grace & Truth.