Faith For Everything
December 25th, 2017, we had a white Christmas! It was so beautiful and special as I can't remember a time when I experienced snow on Christmas. I have lived in the south most of my life so white Christmases were never common or even existent. So this year I was so happy and grateful for the snow that fell here in Indy. And for me it was an answer to prayer.
About a month before Christmas, I was thinking about the season and all the things that make Christmas special. And I started wondering if it would be a white Christmas this year. According to Fox News, Indianapolis hasn't had a white Christmas in 7 years. I really wanted a white Christmas this year for some reason, just like a little girl wants a new baby doll on Christmas day. So I decided to pray. I don't remember word for word, but I think my prayer went something like this, "God, I thank you for this day. I ask that this year be a white Christmas. I know that you give abundantly. So if you will, please send snow this Christmas. In Your Name, Amen." I know it seems silly at first, praying for something that may seem shallow compared to the actual needs of others, but I remembered the verse that talks about asking and receiving (Mark 11:24). I kept praying for snow and I really believed that it would snow on Christmas. I was sure that God would cover the branches with that good white stuff. Every time someone would talk about it, I just had this faith that it was coming. It was Christmas Eve Eve Eve (lol) and my dad was looking at the forecast and sure enough, it was supposed to snow on Christmas Day. That got me excited. Christmas Eve is when it started snowing and I was so grateful that God had answered my simple prayer for the weather to change course. It was beautiful and a great Christmas.
This story is really just a personal cool God moment for me, where I prayed and really believed that God would answer. But often, the things we pray for are big things, things that require crazy faith and it's hard because sometimes, we'll pray and pray, and our prayer doesn't get the answer we want. If that has been you and if you have been discouraged and tempted to give up on faith, I encourage you to keep believing. Be encouraged by a story Jesus told:
"There was a judge in a certain city, who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, 'Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy. The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, 'I don't fear God or care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I'm going to see that she gets justice because she is wearing me out with her constant requests.' Then the Lord said, 'Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don't you think God will surely give justice to His chosen people who cry out to Him day and night? Will He keep putting them off? I tell you, He will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will He find on earth who have faith?'"
Luke 18:2-8
Jesus is telling us to be persistent in our prayers. He is telling us again what He told us in Matthew 7:7. To keep on asking and we will find. Keep on knocking and the door will be opened to us. This story is such an encouragement to me. There have been three main things that I have been praying for almost all my life which I haven't yet seen answers to. The above parable encourages me greatly not to give up, but to have faith 'til the end. Let those last words be food for thought; "But when the Son of Man returns, how many will He find on earth who have faith?" Jesus wants our faith to be eternal and strong enough to last until the end.
Just the fact that Jesus asked the question, proves how hard it is to have faith so strong. He implies how little faith will be left at the end. And He's calling us to trust and to never give up. Whenever I think about perseverance and the concept of not giving up, my mind goes to the lake. Some years ago my sister and I were hanging out with our friends. Their house was really cool, they had a lake in their backyard. They had a dock by the lake where you could imagine you were in a movie as you ran and jumped into the water. And when we were out there swimming, we tried to see if we could swim all the way to the bottom and touch the ground with our feet. If I remember right, I think the lake was twenty feet deep, so it was a good swim to the bottom. And we all would go and come back up and see who touched and who didn't. As I was going, I swam down, moving my arms to push myself down quickly. I kept going but I couldn't find the bottom, so I decided to just come up. And as the rest came up, my friend turned to me and she said, Ashtyn, I was opening my eyes and I could see that you were literally like an inch from touching the bottom. I was so surprised because it felt like I was swimming for forever. If only I would've moved my arms once more to swim, I would've touched the bottom. This is a simple example of perseverance, but my mind always goes back to it whenever I am tempted to give up.
I think, often, we pray and we don't see results so we give up. And it's so easy to do that. But "faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see." Hebrews 11:1. I am really bad at believing and living out this verse. One of my biggest struggles is that I worry too much. I doubt. And doubt is the enemy of faith. So it's definitely hard for me to fully trust God. To fully trust what I can't see. And that is faith. Trusting in what you can't see. Faith is so important and it's the only thing that allows us to know and be confident that something will happen. If you are personally struggling with something, I encourage you. Don't give up and don't lose faith. Just like I couldn't see the bottom of the lake, you might not be able to see what is happening or what will happen in your future. I encourage you to give it to God because He knows. And He can work best when you have maximum faith in Him. I encourage you to have faith in everything. In the small and beautiful things like a snowy white Christmas night and in the big hard things like your family situation or a difficult addiction. Trust Him in everything and let Him take over. All you have to do is believe.
"Now to Him, Who is able to do immeasurably more than you can ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us." Eph. 3:20
~Ash
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