Faith Stories

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, do not depend on your own understanding." Proverbs 3:5

"But I am not ashamed of it [the Gospel], for I know the One in whom I trust, and I am sure that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until the day of His return." - The apostle Paul from prison, 2 Timothy 1:12

For anyone growing up in a Christian context, Proverbs 3:5 is a well quoted verse. In my own life, I often find myself quoting it to give myself comfort in frustrating and uncertain circumstances or find others in my life quoting it to me for the same intention. Honestly, however, very rarely does it give me true comfort nor do I find myself truly focusing on letting the meaning of it sink it. In the Christian community it has almost become a cliche; a pat answer Christians give others and themselves when they are facing a trying situation they can't make sense of.

But I do not believe this was God's intention in giving us this truth in His word. As a friend once stated, God didn't give us the Scriptures so we can find answers; He gave us the Scriptures so we can discover Him.

So, let us reflect more deeply on this verse and what it can tell us about the character of our Savior and Creator and what it says about how He relates to us and us to Him. Perhaps, the next time you read Proverbs 3:5 and have it quoted to you the truth of who God is will be more evident to your spirit.

We find it time and time again in Scripture; individuals facing uncertainty and often danger yet choosing to trust and follow God in the midst of it all. Noah building an ark with no sign of even rain, Abraham leaving familiar land to "go to the land the Lord had told him" (I love that Hebrews points out that he didn't know where he was going- how often is that true in our faith journeys?); we even see God's people choosing to follow and believe Him KNOWING they would be faced with persecution and even death! (The apostles, the early church, even Jesus!) Why in the world??

2 Timothy 1:12 explains the reason I believe all these examples were willing to go into the unknown, the uncertain, and the dangerous for God- they KNEW God's character and therefore they knew they could trust His word, His intentions, His outcomes. They had a FIRM belief that God was a big God, a God who works things out for those who love Him, a God who loves His children, a God who restores, a God who is victorious, a God who is trustworthy.

As we read Scripture, story after story proves this is the case. Each story from the Old to the New Testament exemplifies men and women who had human emotions, human fears, human perspectives- and we see them wrestle with all these things even as they step out in faith- yet who trust in the character of God enough that they courageously set their fears and apprehensions aside. How do these stories end? Common Jewish girls becoming Queen to save a nation (Esther), an army of a few hundred men conquering a massive enemy army (Judges 7), a shepherd boy killing a giant with a stone and a sling (1 Samuel 17), a young virgin Hebrew girl giving birth to the man who would rescue the whole world (Luke 2).

In closing, let me make this personal and share with you my story of choosing to believe God's character. I had just graduated seminary, had anticipated a full time ministry job that ended up falling through. Suddenly, I was working multiple part time jobs and only making about half of what I needed to pay my bills. After wallowing in self pity, bitterness, cynicism, pride, and anger for a couple months I finally confided in my Life Group at church about what was going on. I couldn't deny that I was still angry at God for what I felt was broken promises on His end.

In a conversation with a friend, she gently pointed out that perhaps I was going through this simply so that God could reveal His heart for me. After taking this into consideration, I remember the transition from angry, bitter prayers, accusing God of not providing to falling on my face in tears repeating over and over again, "God I still believe You are good, even though I don't see it right now, I CHOOSE to believe You are good!" I didn't feel it, I didn't see it, I didn't experience it but I chose to believe it. And that was my prayer for 3 months. In those 3 months my circumstances did not change (yet) but boy I sure did.

I was suddenly overwhelmed with peace. I had applied for a few jobs because logically finding yet another job made sense to solving this problem, but God made it very clear that I needed to put myself in a position to let Him provide for me and not try to take control of the situation, as I always do. So that's what I did. And He provided. He gave me grace with my land lord to pay what I could when I could, He gave me favor with a former employer who hired me to cover a job for a couple weeks, He gave me friends and loved ones who would invite me for meals, give me gas cards to help me get to work, and encourage me to keep trusting God and seeking Him.

Finally I felt released to apply for jobs. I applied for five jobs before my current supervisor at the ministry I was working weekends at called me and told me about a sister ministry a couple hours away that needed someone for a few months. I had not even considered or applied to this place and yet God was presenting it to me, perfectly wrapped! After wrestling with fear, I finally took the position which provided exactly what I had been praying for the last five months. Shortly after that I got hired full time at a ministry in Georgia and the rest is history.

It was the hardest season of my life to date but I am continually blown away by the ways that God provided and the ways that my intimacy with Him grew. I learned so much more about His character and how faith works in those six months and am amazed at how differently I approach difficult times now.

I am living Proverbs 3:5 and 1 Timothy 1:12 now BECAUSE I chose to walk the hard path of choosing to believe God's character in uncertain circumstances rather than sinking into bitterness, anger, and cynicism.

What about you? Do you know whom you believe in? Are you able to trust God's character because you've taken the time to get to know it?

Please, share with me YOUR stories of faith- whether you've walked through a hard time and your faith has deepened or you're walking through one now and your faith is wavering. You are not alone!

But I challenge you, wherever you are, CHOOSE to believe that God is good! I promise, it'll change how you see your circumstance.