How do you trust in God when life is difficult? How do you trust in God, when everything always feels a little pear-shaped? How do you trust in God when your prayers seem like they aren't being answered?
Micah (our surprise fourth child - pictured here), was born with a cleft palate; that is the the roof of his mouth wasn't formed properly. The first few weeks of his life he was in intensive care, and struggling to breathe. The days were long. The tears were flowing. We said, 'Why Lord?' They were not easy days.
This photo was taken a few days after his cleft palate surgery (at 11 months of age). We found a moment in between the pain relief when he was smiling! God has been faithful to us over these months. And we're so thankful for so many who have prayed and believed for God's healing upon Micah.
I'm all for praying for God to do a big miracle. Let me say that here and now. I mean God has done big miracles in the past; parting the red sea, letting a donkey talk, bringing the walls of Jericho down, using Elijah to raise someone from the dead. Jesus did big miracles too. It says in Matthew 8:17, that the ministry of Jesus had fulfilled what was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, who said, 'He took our sicknesses and removed our diseases.' People wanted to get close to Jesus, because they knew he could do something significant in their life.
I pray for big miracles, but I want to say something. It can be difficult to trust in God when you don't see the fulfilment of a gut-wrenching prayer that you've prayed about for a long period of time. It can be tough to trust in God, when your prayers have seemingly gone unanswered.
My faith has been strengthened in recent days, because of a shift in my thinking. God is at work, and stories of transformation are happening around me. Jesus is transforming lives. The issue I have, is I'm always looking for the big miracle. But God is transforming lives, and I trust that God is at work. This last fortnight, we've seen the Lord opening doors of opportunity for people in our church to serve in unlikely places. We saw one young person commit their life to Christ recently. A member of our church preached for the first time on Sunday. God is good!
So, here's my thought. I think we hold two things in tension. Firstly we should pray for the big miracles. All things are possible in the name of Jesus. So lets pray big and believe big. We should also look closely for where God is at work in the small things. It's a 'both/and' scenario. That is, we don't just look for God at work in the small things, and settle in our minds that God can't and won't do the big thing. But we should also look for God in the small matters and be thankful every day.
So then, how do you trust in God?
You settle in your heart and mind, that Jesus hears your prayers, and that God is with you through the difficult times and the good times. You choose to believe that what Jesus did on the cross, and his resurrection, was so that you could have a relationship with God Almighty. You trust God for the big miracle. And you trust God in the small matters of your life.
As Proverbs 3:5 simply says, 'Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.'
God bless you today.
