In the O.T. in Isaiah 7, we find that the Israelites and their king Ahaz of Judah, feared when the king of Syria and the king of Israel and their armies went up against Jerusalem. God told Ahaz through the prophet Isaiah, “Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid…IF YOU DO NOT STAND FIRM IN YOUR FAITH, YOU WILL NOT STAND AT ALL!” [Is. 7:9b]
Sarah, Abraham’s wife, struggled with unbelief when they were told that she would have a baby even though she was far past the years to do so. Yet Sarah was praised as a woman of faith in Hebrews 11:11 and Peter writes about her as a model for all Christian women in 1 Peter 3:5-6. It is possible to trust God for Eternal salvation but not to trust Him during certain trials in your life. Sometimes our faith is weak when our problems seem so large that they appear like mountains to us. We sometimes doubt that God sees our needs or that He will answer our prayers. In the Bible, mountains were often referred to as obstacles that are difficult to overcome.
Do you believe that Christ wants to help you remove the mountains in your life? Jesus said in Mark. 11:23-24 – “Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
If you feel your faith might be like Sarah’s before she had Isaac, then all you need to do is ask Jesus for more faith. Matt. 7:7-8 says, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” Faith means to trust God, that He CAN and WILL do that which is best for us. Heb. 11:1 says, “Now faith is confidence, the reality in what we hope for and assurance/conviction/certainty of what we do not see.”
FAITH IS TRUSTING GOD EVEN IF YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND HIS PLAN. Sarah struggled with her faith because her eyes were fixed on Abraham and herself and not on God. The promises of God seemed impossible. But God spoke to Sarah, and He lifted her old, tired eyes to His sweet Fatherhood who said, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” [Gen.18:14] “By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered Him faithful who had promised.” [Heb. 11:11]
Your faith will grow when you remove your eyes from yourself and focus them onto the One whose faithfulness is our security. EVERYTHING God has planned for you, WILL be accomplished when you trust Him! You might face difficulties and hardships, but Christ’s purposes for you WILL be fulfilled.
Heavenly Father God, please help me to have the kind of faith You expect from me and to trust You when I face mountains of difficulties. Please help me to focus on You, so that the troubles on this earth will grow dim in the light of Your glory and grace. Amen
Myrtle Turunen