How Strong Is Your Faith?

Have you ever had one of “those weeks”? You know, every day, something comes up that just kicks up the number of bad things happening that week to a point where it gets to an intolerable point.

Well, we’ve had one of “those weeks”. Satan has attacked us unmercifully before, but now, it’s our family. We’ve been thinking of Job.

You know of my condition, now it’s causing friction between my wife and me. She’s tired of my slowness, and I can’t blame her. It’s something I can’t help – it comes with concussions. I used to be quick on the uptake, but no more. I’m frustrated, she’s frustrated, and it turns into friction – more so than usual this week.

My son-in-law was diagnosed with a brain tumor. This came out of the blue! His wife, my stepdaughter, and their sons, our grandsons, are completely distraught – and expectedly so. Now, we have to be strong for them.

My brother-in-law lost his battle with brain cancer, which we’ve been praying for to be cured. God answered, and he is cured, just not how we expected. It still shook many of us. We pray for the comfort of his wife and his kids – and their families.

My eldest stepdaughter broke her ankle and foot in three places in a freak accident. This happened while she was talking with my wife on the phone. It didn’t sound serious at that time, but when we received the diagnosis, I started looking at what we could do to help.

Then to top it off, my Parkinson’s kicked in yet again, while I was taking a dog back into the house, she bolted into the house, yanking the leash from my hand, I lost my balance, fell backward and onto a patio heater, practically slicing my earlobe off.

We’ve lost our local hospital, it closed – causing me to be transported to one much further away. Five hours later in their waiting room, blood all over, I was seen. Six stitches later, and a precautionary CT Scan which came up normal, I was on my way home on what became a fifty two dollar Uber ride. That hurt more than my ear.

At this point, anyone – and I mean anyone – would be wondering “why”…

✅ Why would You, God, permit the discontent in my home?

✅ Why would You, God, permit our son-in-law contract a brain tumor?

✅ Why would You, God, take a wonderful man who had so much to offer?

✅ Why would You, God, permit a great mother to be incapacitated with a broken ankle and foot?

✅ Why would You, God, permit our local hospital to close, which helped so many in the region?

✅ Why would You, God, permit me to suffer this horrible disease?

I then got my answer, and it came in Psalm 34, and specifically, verses 17-19:

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles.

The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all.

So yes, even those of us who are truly born again, ask of God, why are You doing this Lord? Believe me, it’s not uncommon. Even pastors and elders yell out to God sometimes.

But unlike Job’s wife, we don’t curse God. Remember in Job 2:9, when she asks, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!”

Job’s reply to her was to rebuke her. Verse 10:

But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

Job lost virtually everything – except for his wife. He lost his wealth, his property, his kids and their families – everything. All he had was himself and his wife. That’s it.

Compared to that, my issues were relatively minor, but to me, Satan was now attacking my family. I get into “papa bear mode.” Yeah, I’m ticked off – at Satan.

I then go back to the beginning to Psalm 34.

I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; The humble shall hear of it and be glad.

Oh, magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together.

We praise the Lord for these trials.

Why would we do that? Why would we say “Thank God I’m suffering!” That’s completely useless.

But there’s a reason we praise the Lord.

James, in chapter 1 of his book, tells us in verse 2 that trials will come. The Greek in the verse says when trials come – the word is “hotan” – specifically, “when.” If you’re saved, or not, you’re going to be tested. It’s why you’re tested, and how you handle the trials, that’s important.

If you’re not saved – I mean truly saved – God’s trying to get your attention, taking you to a point of submission. I’ve said it a hundred times, most people who repent and come to Jesus, have come to their lowest point, where the only way to look is up.

If you are truly saved, these trials are testing your faith. Faith is like a muscle, the more you use it, the stronger it gets. When you exercise your muscles, they get stronger, it’s the same analogy. Trials are the exercise equipment to strengthen your faith.

Hebrews 11:6 says succinctly that without faith, you can’t come to God.

You can’t be saved without faith. You must have faith, for example, that Jesus was the final sacrifice and died for your sins, and His resurrection was the final victory over the ultimate penalty over sin – you cannot be saved without it. Faith is fundamental to salvation and Hebrews 11:6 nails that. Faith is that important.

After you’re saved, that faith needs to be strengthened, and that’s why trials come. You need to surrender all of these trials to God. He will help you through them.

Now you see that when I tell you that every answer can be found in the Bible. When you study God’s Word, then the answers come clear.

So, when faced with my son in law’s problem, we wanted to build faith in the family, we looked at Romans chapter 4, where Paul writes about Abraham and Sarah. They were told that they were going to have a child – but he was a hundred years old, and she was eighty, utterly impossible for anyone that age.

Is anything impossible with God? No, and Isaac came along a year later.

If God can do this, He can certainly deal with this situation.

They’ve started nightly Bible studies and prayer – We loved to see this happening. The faith muscle is now being exercised.

In my brother in law’s passing, I know that he was saved. Growing up like myself, in a Jewish household, he came to Jesus as a Messianic Jew. He’s in Heaven with Jesus now, and completely healed – our prayers for his healing, answered.

My stepdaughter is praising the Lord, knowing there’s a reason for all of this. Her husband is doing all he can to support her.

The rest, I still haven’t seen how God’s going to answer, but I’m not going to curse God – but praise His holy name, knowing full well that any answer that will come, is better than anything we could come with, and will glorify His name.

And that’s the endgame – God’s name will be glorified when any trial befalls us. We trust, we pray in the name of Jesus, and only Jesus, we have faith – complete faith – and God will answer, in His way and in His time, and that answer will glorify His name.

Where’s your faith? How strong is it?

Can you withstand the enemy’s slings and arrows that will no doubt, will come?

Are you praising God for these trials, or are you cursing God?

Let’s face it, God knows better, the answer to your problem. Your faith needs exercising. Trust the Lord – pray for His answer, in His way, and His time.

And don’t try to impose your solution on Him, because it will ultimately fail.

(All scripture references are from the New King James Version, 1982, Thomas Nelson)