Life is hard - sometimes God intervenes, sometimes He does not. When He does not, will you choose to believe in Him anyway? That is faith. It is not simply a matter of believing He will (or will not) act a certain way or do a certain thing in response to our prayers. It is a matter of believing He is still who He says He is. His character has not changed simply because bad things have happened.
It is good to remind ourselves that God is not a genie in a lamp - if you rub it just right, than God has to do what you ask of Him, when you ask Him to do it. Many Christians, I fear, have this view of God. "If I do this, than God will/must do this for me.." Often even those of us in ministry have said/thought, "But God! I am doing your will! I am doing what You called me to do!! The road should be smoother because I am following Your will for my life!" Then, when things don't go the way we want them to, we pitch a fit. Like a spoiled child who doesn't get his way. "It's not fair!!"
So you don't understand. That's okay. You don't have to. God hasn't changed. He still holds You in His hands, even if You can't feel them. He still listens to your prayers, even if He seems silent. He still sees you, even if you can't see Him, even if you can't see His plan. So keep believing. Keep praying. Keep the faith.
"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Heb. 12:1
This was an encouragement and a challenge to me. I hope it made you stop and think. Remember that God is Who He is, no matter where we are or what we are going through. The above lesson was written by Lance & Amy Auterson. Missionaries in