Trust God Before The Miracle

“That is why we never give up. Our physical body is becoming older and weaker, but our spirit inside us is made new every day. We have small troubles for a while now, but these troubles are helping us gain an eternal glory. That eternal glory is much greater than our troubles.”
‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭4:16-17‬ ‭ERV‬‬

I must confess that deep down I have a fear mentality. I have to strongly fight against fearing that I will have to face something I can’t handle. I learned this lesson well during a time when life was so dark. My younger son lived with deep depression for a period of time. I did not see that his future had any hope. For almost 6 years, there was always a new development that I couldn’t handle. Even though that was almost 15 years ago, I can’t shake the feeling that something terrible is right around the corner and I will not be able to cope with it.

The enemy would have loved to have taken me down back then, cripple me for life. But instead, out of God’s wonderful grace and faithfulness, he had other plans for me. I take no credit whatsoever. However, I remember pulling up to work everyday telling myself “these troubles are helping me gain an eternal glory. That eternal glory is much greater than my troubles.” I would tell God everyday that I knew that one day I would be with him and these troubles would be over.

I learned that if I was going to survive, I had to pray with faith and not fear. My favorite verse became,

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭11:6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I realized that if my prayers were driven by fear and not faith, he could NOT reward me. I had to believe in his promises and not pray doubt-driven prayers.

“But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”
‭‭James‬ ‭1:6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Also, I had to pray differently about things that I could not figure out the solution to.

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭4:18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

If I fixed my eyes on temporary and not eternal, that meant that I had to come up with solution all by myself. Stop and think for a moment. Are you driven by the fact that it is up to you to fix your problem? Be honest. I have not encountered many people who think eternally and pray with faith not doubt, but I want to be a part of that group.

I want that to be my goal in life...to pray with such confidence that God actually can do the impossible. If I believe that this verse is true, why do I worry about mounting finances of this surgery and the unexpected broken heater?

“I already own all the animals in the forest. I own all the animals on a thousand hills.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭50:10‬ ‭ERV‬‬

Why am I worrying about if and when my arm will heal? Am I holding my arm the right way? When should I return to work? I keep thinking that it’s my decision and not the surgeon’s.🙂

“He forgives all our sins and HEALS all our sicknesses.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭103:3‬ ‭ERV‬‬

Why do I worry about the future and the faceless enemies of the unknowns of finishing the school year?

“My times are in your hands; deliver me from the hands of my enemies, from those who pursue me.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭31:15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Instead, I choose to believe that I can trust my future without fear and worry because,

“But as the Scriptures say, “No one has ever seen, no one has ever heard, no one has ever imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭2:9‬ ‭ERV‬‬

I can remember thinking back in college that I would trust God BEFORE I saw how the situation would work out. Whenever I did that, God would reward my waiting with more than my heart could have imagined. I guess God has not gotten one bit weaker just because my faith is weaker today. He is the same, always faithful and always a rewarder.