Have you ever had a boss, family member, or even a spouse that
rarely complimented you when you did something well, but was quick to bring it
to your attention when you made a mistake? Makes you wonder, doesn’t it – if that
person was so good at noticing when you did something wrong, why couldn’t he or
she try to catch you doing something right?
Maybe that kind of approach was intended as a backhanded
compliment. They expected us to do things properly, so it caught them by surprise
when we made an error. (At least we’d like to think that was the case.) Sadly, isn’t that how we view many of the things we utilize every day?
For instance, when we stick the key in the ignition and the
car starts up, we don’t call our friends and throw a party. But if we turn the
key and nothing happens, or we hear only “click-click-click,” we’re ready to
call the manufacturer, the dealership, the car repair service, or anyone who’ll
listen to our complaints.
Cars are supposed to start. When they don’t, it catches us off
guard. The same applies to TVs, furnaces and air conditioners, computers, cell
phones and every other gadget we use on a regular basis. We take them for
granted – until something goes wrong and we’re in crisis.
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| If you notice your knee when it bends, that's not good. |
Several weeks ago, while moving some boxes to my garage, I
turned awkwardly and twisted my knee. The stab of pain I felt instantly told me
I’d made a wrong move, although I wasn’t aware of doing anything unusual. Over
the next days my always-reliable, never-causing-me-any-trouble knee hurt. It
was a real pain in the…knee. I hobbled around, even having to miss several of
my morning exercise classes. Ibuprophen became my buddy.
I felt my knee had betrayed me. Joints are to be seen, not
felt. They're supposed to be taken for granted. When you’re conscious of
your joints moving, something’s not right.
We tend to hold a similar attitude toward spiritual faith. Even
if we claim faith is important in our life, we take it with the
proverbial grain of salt. As long as things are going well, it’s easy to claim a strong faith in God. We say, “Thank you, Lord,” while patting ourselves on the back. But when problems arise, we wonder what’s wrong. “Lord,
what have you done for me lately?”
Tough times reveal the genuineness of our faith. It doesn’t
require a lot of faith when we’re feeling good, the bills are all paid, work’s
going well, the car’s starting, our family’s in harmony, and the house is warm
and cozy. But what happens to our trust and confidence in God when things
aren’t going the way we want?
Hebrews 11:6 tells us, “And without faith it is
impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he
exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” I don’t believe God brings adversity into our lives to watch us
squirm. But He allows hardships because through those situations we’re reminded
how desperately we need Him.
Another verse, Hebrews 11:1,
states “Now faith is the substance of
things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” We don’t need to hope
for resolutions to problems that are already solved, or for things we already
possess. The eyes of faith assure us God will do for us those things we can’t
see.
A friend has struggled with
cystic fibrosis, a chronic lung disease, since childhood. Hard work and
perseverance enabled him to live far beyond the most optimistic expectations of
his physicians. He got married, had children and established a successful
business career, despite his severe physical limitations. Through it all, his
faith remained strong, trusting God for healing.
A few weeks ago he and his
family saw their prayers answered. He received a double lung transplant, and
today is progressing well in recovery, hopeful of many more years of fruitful
life, loving his family and friends, and serving his Lord.
His faith gave substance to his hopes, evidence of God’s
promise to restore his health when the medical experts said it wasn’t going to
happen. He’s a living example of faith in action.
