Faith in Hard Times
“I’ve done that already, and it didn’t work”. “I’ve been hurt too much”. “I can’t trust you”. Heartbroken. Bitterness. We’ve probably all asked these questions or felt this way at some point. “And now God you’re asking me to do it again? You’re asking me to trust and have faith when I’ve been hurt so much? My heart is broken. You didn’t come through like I expected. I’m angry and I don’t trust you”. Or maybe it’s something like this, “You’re asking me God to forgive that person? No way! Do you know what they did? They broke my heart”. Or how about, “They betrayed my trust. They don’t deserve forgiveness, let alone my prayers”.
Not only have I been there, but I’ve seen others there too. I’ve seen the bitterness take root, fester and turn into hatred. I’ve even told God I can’t forgive. So how do we have faith in these times? What do we have faith in? It’s a bit easier when you have faith in God, but not other people. When you have faith in God, even though you don’t have faith in others, you still can move forward. “Ok God, I trust you. Whatever you say, I’ll do. I don’t trust so and so, but I’ll trust you to work things out”. But what do you do when you’ve lost faith in God?
The good news. God can handle it. He’s not surprised that you don’t trust him. 2 Timothy 2:13 says, “if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself”. Even if we lose faith, God has not. He hasn’t lost faith in you. He will remain faithful to you in ALL circumstances.
So what do I do? First, be honest. Don’t be afraid to be honest with God. He already knows. Again, you’re not going to surprise him. I find it interesting that people think that somehow it’s not appropriate to be honest with God. I believe that’s a lie from the devil. Be respectful to the God of the universe, yes, but be honest. He can handle it. I remember telling God one time, “I know your word says to forgive. And I know you want me to. But I just can’t. And unless you change my heart, it won’t happen”. Wanna know what happened? God changed my heart ;-). Be honest with God. Yell, scream, do whatever you need to do. Write it down if you have to. But be honest with how you’re feeling.
Second, don’t stop talking with God. Tell him you don’t trust him. Tell him everyday. Tell him what you know to be true and ask him to change your heart. But above all, don’t stop talking with God. Every day, come to him telling him how you feel. You may not have those feelings of trust, but you know in you’re head what the bible says. The bible says you can trust him with your life. No matter where you’re at, don’t stop talking with God.
Third, stay in the community of believers, aka, the church. If you’re not in a church, get in one. I say that with love my friends. It is so important to stay in with a community of believers. They can lift you up when you are weak. They can encourage you when you need encouragement. Believers need other believers. You can’t do it alone.
Lastly, keep reading the word of God. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Basically, the word of God is life giving. The word of God gives you faith. As you read of God’s faithfulness, you’ll begin to develop even the slightest of faith. The bible also says, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can move mountains. Reading the word of God will encourage your faith. It may start small, but it will eventually snowball.
Be honest, don’t stop talking with God, stay in a community of believers and keep reading the word of God. It’s not a magic formula. But I know if you do these things, your faith in God will come back. You may not understand the why, but you’ll begin to trust God again. My hope for you is to live an encouraged life. It’s hard to do that when you don’t have faith. I have faith in God. I know he wants good things for you. If you need people to pray along side of you, write a comment in the comment section below. I will pray. I will get others to pray for you as well. Be encourage today my friends!