As a believer in Jesus, the hardest part of faith for me is to keep a positive faith-filled attitude when things are not going well. It is certainly much easier to have faith when I am not challenged.
Maybe you had an event in your life that caused you to lean in to God, or perhaps, to lean out. Trials thrown at us like sickness or illness, tragic loss or death, relational challenges, or perhaps a job loss. The world is crumbling around you and you don’t hear God speaking to you and He is not coming to your rescue. Where is He when I need Him? Why should I continue to believe and have faith if it does not feel like God is with me when I am in a bad season?
Isaiah 8:14 says “He will be as a sanctuary, but a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to both the house of Israel as a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.”
The context behind this verse relates to the prophet Isaiah and his counsel to the Jewish people when they were under the reign of King Ahaz. The Nation of Israel was a very low point of faith and turned their faith to King Ahaz rather than to God. Isaiah urged the Jewish people to fear the Lord and put their faith in Him. Isaiah is stating in this verse that God will challenge and “snare” the Jewish people with trials and difficult times to bring their faith closer to Him.
Wait! You mean the Lord our God knows we will go through bad times and He lets it happen! Why do I want to believe and have faith in a God that wants or knows that I am suffering?
The apostles that lived and traveled with Jesus carried on the expansion of Christianity after the death and resurrection of Jesus. When Jesus died on the cross, they were devastated and I would be confident to say they, briefly, lost their faith. But that all changed with Jesus’ resurrection. To add onto that, all of the disciples that carried the movement and expansion of Christianity around the world, endured imprisonment, ridicule, torture, and in many cases horrible deaths. If they would have quit or not had faith, humanity today might not be saved. Although they put their lives at risk and suffered greatly, most of the books of the New Testament in the Bible were written by men who suffered more than we could ever imagine and they still followed Jesus.
The randomness and inconsistency of life does not shake my faith simply because of the resurrection of Jesus. There are far better people than me that endured insurmountable obstacles yet they still believed in the risen Christ. They were so moved and impacted by His resurrection, they were willing to suffer unimaginable circumstances to spread the gospel. They believed and trusted that God would bless them even in the face of horrible circumstances.
There has to be a reason and purpose for our suffering is this life. I must keep studying, asking, digging, questioning, and exploring my faith. One of my favorite quotes about faith and studying the Bible is from Matthew Maher. Matthew said “We cannot say God is not speaking to us when our Bible is closed.”
I will keep reading. I will continue to ask questions. I will strive to be reverent and curious to understand the meaning of this life’s events. What I know is I may not always understand but I trust that my God has a purpose. He is challenging me to learn more, explore more, and go deeper with my relationship with Him.
If the disciples who were tortured and died horrible deaths still believed in Jesus, I think my day to day life challenges can be overcome. I will not be shaken.
