“I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.” Job 42:2:3.

“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You.” Job 42:5.

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6.

A few years ago, I had a routine medical procedure. The doctor removed a few things and suggested I have another follow-up procedure in three years. I had to wait until last month to set the appointment, but finally got an open day which was yesterday.

I was hoping and praying that this time the doctor would find little or no issues. Or at least if he did find something it would be something he could take care of. And he would suggest I wait for another three or perhaps five years before needing another follow-up.

But it didn’t tun out that way.

The results of what he found actually sounded better than what was there three years ago, and he was able to take care of it. But for some reason, the doctor felt we only needed to go one year before a follow-up. I didn’t get a chance to speak with him about his reasoning so I don’t really know what’s going on. I’m going to try to reach him about it in the next week.

At any rate, I was greatly disappointed. Things didn’t turn out the way I wanted, even though I prayed about them, and had been praying for the last three years. And yet this time is worse than the last. Why couldn’t God take care of that simple little request?

I’m not going to make this a major theological message on the question why. God has many reasons for doing things the way He does, and usually He works multiple reasons for the same issue. His ability to masterfully weave the tapestries of our lives is beyond imagination.

Sometimes He shares some of those reasons with us. Many times He doesn’t. But His reasoning isn’t the issue. Trusting Him is.

God’s word says without faith it’s impossible to please Him. That’s because He wants a close Father-child relationship with us. And the only way to get it is to trust Him.

Some things are easy to trust Him with. Others are more difficult. And He works with us on our level. But He also gives us harder and harder circumstances to help our faith in Him grow.

What we have to do is make sure we don’t give up. Just because God doesn’t answer our prayers in our way on our timetable is no reason to stop trusting Him.

A few years ago, God told me He was going to do something for me and with me. Something pretty much impossible from a human perspective. He wasn’t specific about everything, but I got the impression He had other things planned beyond what He was telling me. All I had to do was trust Him, regardless of how impossible all of it seemed. Like Job said, God can do anything, and nothing He wants can be withheld from Him. He didn’t give me a timetable, but I figured surely I was only looking at a few months or maybe a year.

It has now been four and a half years, and nothing appears to have changed. In fact, the event seems to be more impossible now than at the beginning. I truly knew and believed that God could do anything He said. And I thought that was enough faith to endure while I waited.

But it wasn’t. And He knew that. Part of what He said at the beginning was that this was going to be something that would grow my faith. Grow it to the point I could handle what He had planned farther down the road.

Whatever else I may say about all this time, I have to admit my faith has increased. It’s not so much about knowing what God can do, but resting in the assurance that He will do what He said regardless of the circumstances. And resting with patience and endurance. Even when those circumstances are painful.

We wish the trials and tribulations that build faith could do their work without causing too much trouble. But it seems they do their best work when they make us uncomfortable, are painful even. They move us out of our comfort zones and awaken us to new possibilities. And we realize that God is there with us all the way.

Soon we discover that knowing He’s there makes life smoother. The things that used to bother us are still problems, but we don’t react to them anymore. We become like Job, moving from hearing about God to seeing and knowing Him.

That grows our faith. That grows our relationship. And that’s what He wants.

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Do you know Jesus? Do you have a personal relationship with Him? According to scripture, all anyone must do is recognize their sin condition, realize that Christ died to pay for that sin, and ask Him to save them from it. Salvation is a gift of grace we receive by faith. Meet Him today! Contact me at kenneth@kennethmbriggs.com if you need more information.

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