Putting a Face on Faith

(Trust Actualized and Maximized)

Could God have intended for difficulties to be our best friends? Perhaps so, if they are His invitations to, ‘Trust Me.’

Trusting God is a pleasant perfume, produced by crushing the flower of our personal wills (ego) in subjection to His will. It is collected drop-by-drop as we remain in His presence, allowing His Word to squeeze out self-will, fear, doubt and anxiety. He can fill the resulting void with His peace, and assurances that He permeates all things, circumstances, and places, at all times.

I am convinced that the biggest part of trusting God is not the wonderful things we accomplish in faith, like the renowned cloud of witnesses in ‘Heaven’s Hall of Faith.’ (Hebrews 11)  Rather, it is what we don’t do, i.e., waiting on Him. Isaiah foretells great promises for those who trustingly ‘wait upon The Lord.’ (Isaiah 40:31)  But what exactly does he mean? Could it be biding our time, wringing our hands, and biting our lips and tongues while we wait for a slow God? A thousand times no!

Waiting upon The Lord is seeking first and continually The Kingdom of God. This is not for a set period of time, but rather a lifestyle of moment-by-moment seeking, similar to an Internet-based virus protection center of a computer, set for continuous updating. Waiting upon The Lord is not just waiting ‘for’ Him, but much more. It is serving Him, like a waiter ‘waiting on’ a high level dignitary in a restaurant – paying constant attention to the details of service and his client’s desires.

Waiting is an outward expression of a strong, inner trust. Solomon encourages us to ‘Trust in The Lord with all of our heart, and lean not to our own understanding. In all our ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct our paths.’ (Proverbs 3:5-6) If the biggest part of trusting God is waiting, then the challenge to waiting lies in the middle of the next trial along life’s path.

Jack thought he had the trust issue pretty well down. But there he was, smack in the middle of a trial that was getting the upper hand. As he prayed, he found his mind canvassing the details of his problem and discovering more to worry about. The same thing was happening during daily devotions, his family time and work, clouding his thoughts and crowding out the little peace that was left. The words of the tax accountant echoed in his mind, like a bad commercial on automatic replay.

By now, everyone knew about his problem. And, true to form, there were good-willed suggestions, along with promises to pray. But the closer D-day came (day of decision), the more of a basket case Jack was becoming.

On the long subway ride home, he caught a glance of a booklet being read by the guy sitting next to him. The man noticed Jack’s glance and asked, ‘Have you seen this?’

‘No.’, Jack replied, ‘What is it?’

‘By chance, are you a Christian?’, the man asked.

‘Sure am!’ Jack replied.

As the man enthusiastically summarized the booklet, Jack’s mind started to race and with enthusiasm, he said,‘Wow, this could be just the handle I need!’

‘Hello, I’m home.’, he yelled as he dashed to his home office, trying to remember the points of the subway discussion. Climbing the escalator up from the subway, he had kept mumbling, ‘Don’t look for an easy, clear path out of the trial. Only look for the next step. The root of testimony is test. Trials produce a testimony for me, and fruit for others! There is no testimony without a test.’

Fumbling for a pen and paper as his stomach growled, he seemed to forget some of the main points. Just as his wife, Jenna, came in for a hug and to call him to dinner, ‘Ah ha! I remember!’, he shouted. Between his growling stomach and family waiting at the table, there was no time to write anything. Rather, he decided to share his new insights over dinner.

The kids noticed something different about Dad tonight - talking with a mouth full of food, not letting anybody to get a word in edgewise, and hey, not fretting about his problem!

Jack continued,

‘Hey guys, have you ever noticed how easy it is to pray for someone else, and turn the matter over to God; but how difficult it is to do the same thing for your own needs? What we tend to do is to pray, and pray, and pray some more; then call everybody we know to pray for us; then wring our hands as we look for the results, to the point that doubt set in, killing off our faith. Well today I found an easy three-step answer:

   1. Faith works by/through love (Galatians 5:6)

   2. Effectual, fervent prayer of the righteous avails much (James 5:16)

   3. Let patience have her perfect work (James 1:4)

1. Love is giving and is very much an outward, not a self-centered force. Love is God. Simply put, prayer works best when it is for others.

2. Fervency gets God’s attention, and also demands a prompt reply. But the problem is our ‘walking in the shoes of’ our own problems. It  pushes us to pray fervently for ourselves  more than for others. Wanna know how we can beat this game?’

Jack didn’t let anybody get in their view before he continued, ‘Our own problems are the ‘trigger source’ for fervency in praying for others!’

‘Say what?’ Jenna yelled, as Jack continued.

Jack responded,

We should see our personal problems as the ‘Finger of God’ pointing out opportunities for fervent prayer for others who have the same kind of problems we are experiencing. In essence, our problems are like a faint, mirror reflection of similar, but far more serious, problems of someone who is desperately crying out to God for answers, just like you and I do! Pass the green beans and gravy, please.

The beauty of this approach is that we do not need to know who has the problem. Praying for someone with a similar problem ensures that we are putting our faith to work with love. By adding fervency to our prayers, we are unleashing God’s power to respond and ‘avail much!’ Afterwards, we are then ready to ‘let Patience have her perfect work’, by listening for her footsteps and guarding against anxiousness and fear which only turn the spot light back on us. Jenna, why does your left-over turkey always taste better than when it’s fresh out of the oven?

A guy I sat beside on the way home explained all this to me from a booklet he was reading, and said when he takes this approach, he usually gets two miraculous results:

o   First, the person for whom he’s been praying, based on the problem he himself is personally experiencing, usually ‘walks across the stage of his life.’  He comes to know for whom he has been praying. He uses this as a powerful tool for witnessing. I mean, imagine that… meeting someone for the first time and saying, ‘Wow, you’re the one for whom I’ve been praying!’ That’s exactly what this guy said to me on the subway tonight, that meeting me put a face on his faith!

o   Second, by taking the prayer spotlight off of himself, he usually realizes God has surprisingly stepped in and resolved his problem!’

By now, dinnertime was over and the kids were ready for homework and play. The dishes quickly piled up in the sink as Jenna tossed the apron to Jack. ‘Your turn tonight, Honey. I’ve had a rather exhausting day. By the way, before I go to bed, what’s the latest take on your big problem?’

With a wide grin, Jack reflected once again. He hardly believed how quickly he did the dishes while praising God for meeting that man, and imagining who just might be struggling with his big problem.

If we accept it, our personal problems may well be God’s ‘trigger source’ to:

1      .    Add fervency in our prayers for others

2      .    Put our faith to work by love

3      .    Unleash the power of God in the lives of others

        .    Allow the Spirit of Patience to steady our focus and resolve

If we follow God’s game plan, then problems and difficulties can be our best friends! They strengthen our faith and make us stronger inside than the storm outside. Only then are we prepared to actualize our trust by waiting patiently upon The Lord. The key is to see difficulties as the ‘Finger of God’, nudging us to intercede. A person who spends the majority of his or her prayer time in intercession, rather than on ‘me, myself, mind end I’, is someone whose trust has not only been actualized, but also maximized.

If our needs and desires are mere faint mirror reflections of much deeper needs being felt by someone else, they are indeed God’s invitations and reminders for us to intercede. The better part of wisdom is ‘getting ahead of the 8 ball’, so to speak, by praying for someone else in advance for that need or desire which has yet to manifest in our lives. Just know it’s on the way, and that it’s not our own, but is God’s excellent way to encourage us to progress in the walk of love by interceding.

This way, we don’t have to wonder for what to pray

Just let our needs and desires point the way

And allow God to ‘put a face on our faith.’

----------
Friends, here is the link to a song (lyrics and YouTube video) I wrote and performed on my 1st CD in a desire to encapsulate the pivotal lesson in this short story:  Take It to God In Prayer
Enjoy and be blessed~

Pic source: http://susanschooldaze.blogspot.com/2013_01_01_archive.html