Hi all! It's been a while, but I'm back with something on my heart. I wonder if there is anyone out there that gets faith frustrations. In case you are wondering what that means, let me explain the term for you. A faith frustration occurs when a person is walking in faith to see the manifestation of some desire from or promise of God, but the actual manifestation is delayed to the point of frustration.
Let me open and transparent. I am smack-dab in the middle of some faith frustrations right now. Everywhere I look I see frustrations. I am at a place in my life where I know that God has some plans for me (a la Jeremiah 29:11), but in this moment, I must admit that I have done some questioning of those plans. Like, seriously, what is taking them so long? And more importantly, why does the situation that God promised would work out seem to be getting worse? Isn't that the wrong direction?
Let me pause here to say that if you are questioning God, you don't have to feel bad about that. God can handle your questions. He is not moved. He is not scared. He is not in a corner hiding from them. He does not have a bunch of resource materials open trying to figure out the answers to the questions we have posed. That is not the God we serve. If God is who we believe He is, trust me, He is unbothered by questions.
That said, I hope I'm not the only person that has experienced faith frustrations. In fact, I know I am not the only one. Just yesterday, the Holy Spirit reminded me of the story of the raising of Lazarus in John 11. I know most people focus in the actually resurrection of the dead man, but yesterday the Holy Spirit highlighted the faith frustrations of Lazarus's sisters.
You see, John 11 starts out by telling us that Lazarus was sick and his sisters, Mary and Martha, send word to Jesus to inform Him of Lazarus's condition. Such was their relationship with Christ that they didn't even use Lazarus's name. The word the sent to Him described Lazarus as the one Christ loved. Such a description indicates a depth of relationship and intimacy. The sisters didn't have to spell everything out in the message. They had faith that Jesus would understand what they meant without having to speak plainly. And He did. Jesus's response was so encouraging. He sent word back that the sickness would not result in death.
Now, the scriptures tell us that Jesus was about 2 miles away from where Lazarus was. The expectation by the readers and certainly the expectation of the sister would be that Christ would come directly. The one He loved was sick. He was clearly a healer and if He can heal multitudes of strangers, surely He would drop everything to come to the assistance of the one He loved.
But He didn't. The Bible says that Christ stayed where he was for two more days. Not two more hours. TWO WHOLE DAYS. How frustrating that must have been for Mary and Martha. They had faith that Jesus could and would heal their brother, but when they called for Him, He did not come. And to make matters worse, His delay caused the situation to worsen. Lazarus died in that space of time. That must have increased their frustration. The word they received from Jesus was that Lazarus would not die, yet Lazarus was dead.
I paused and began to see the similarities in my situation. I have had faith for the things that I know God has promised. I have gone to Him in faith believing that He can do it. I mean, I am bubbling over with the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). Yet, rather than seeing improvements in my situation, rather than seeing God hasten to my aid, the situation gets so much worse to the point of being beyond resuscitation. And so here I am: frustrated in the place of faith.
Why, Lord???
Could it be that God is trying to show us a dimension of Himself that we have not previously seen? Could it be that God wants the situation to go way past human ability to fix or improve so that when He operates, we know without a doubt that He came through for us?
Is it inconvenient? Sure. But I am writing this post to encourage someone who is in a season of faith frustrations. We know what God has said, we understand his promises, but our current reality is that the circumstances are getting worse. Do not lose hope. Do not give up on God. Even if the situation has gotten to the point of impossibility. Is there anything too hard for the Lord?
So in the face of your faith frustrations remember this: "do not throw away your confidence, because it has great reward." (Hebrews 10:35)
Let me open and transparent. I am smack-dab in the middle of some faith frustrations right now. Everywhere I look I see frustrations. I am at a place in my life where I know that God has some plans for me (a la Jeremiah 29:11), but in this moment, I must admit that I have done some questioning of those plans. Like, seriously, what is taking them so long? And more importantly, why does the situation that God promised would work out seem to be getting worse? Isn't that the wrong direction?
Let me pause here to say that if you are questioning God, you don't have to feel bad about that. God can handle your questions. He is not moved. He is not scared. He is not in a corner hiding from them. He does not have a bunch of resource materials open trying to figure out the answers to the questions we have posed. That is not the God we serve. If God is who we believe He is, trust me, He is unbothered by questions.
That said, I hope I'm not the only person that has experienced faith frustrations. In fact, I know I am not the only one. Just yesterday, the Holy Spirit reminded me of the story of the raising of Lazarus in John 11. I know most people focus in the actually resurrection of the dead man, but yesterday the Holy Spirit highlighted the faith frustrations of Lazarus's sisters.
You see, John 11 starts out by telling us that Lazarus was sick and his sisters, Mary and Martha, send word to Jesus to inform Him of Lazarus's condition. Such was their relationship with Christ that they didn't even use Lazarus's name. The word the sent to Him described Lazarus as the one Christ loved. Such a description indicates a depth of relationship and intimacy. The sisters didn't have to spell everything out in the message. They had faith that Jesus would understand what they meant without having to speak plainly. And He did. Jesus's response was so encouraging. He sent word back that the sickness would not result in death.
Now, the scriptures tell us that Jesus was about 2 miles away from where Lazarus was. The expectation by the readers and certainly the expectation of the sister would be that Christ would come directly. The one He loved was sick. He was clearly a healer and if He can heal multitudes of strangers, surely He would drop everything to come to the assistance of the one He loved.
But He didn't. The Bible says that Christ stayed where he was for two more days. Not two more hours. TWO WHOLE DAYS. How frustrating that must have been for Mary and Martha. They had faith that Jesus could and would heal their brother, but when they called for Him, He did not come. And to make matters worse, His delay caused the situation to worsen. Lazarus died in that space of time. That must have increased their frustration. The word they received from Jesus was that Lazarus would not die, yet Lazarus was dead.
I paused and began to see the similarities in my situation. I have had faith for the things that I know God has promised. I have gone to Him in faith believing that He can do it. I mean, I am bubbling over with the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). Yet, rather than seeing improvements in my situation, rather than seeing God hasten to my aid, the situation gets so much worse to the point of being beyond resuscitation. And so here I am: frustrated in the place of faith.
Why, Lord???
Could it be that God is trying to show us a dimension of Himself that we have not previously seen? Could it be that God wants the situation to go way past human ability to fix or improve so that when He operates, we know without a doubt that He came through for us?
Is it inconvenient? Sure. But I am writing this post to encourage someone who is in a season of faith frustrations. We know what God has said, we understand his promises, but our current reality is that the circumstances are getting worse. Do not lose hope. Do not give up on God. Even if the situation has gotten to the point of impossibility. Is there anything too hard for the Lord?
So in the face of your faith frustrations remember this: "do not throw away your confidence, because it has great reward." (Hebrews 10:35)
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