Faith Didn’t Work - Or Did It?

What do you do when you believe with all your heart that God is real, that He hears you, that He can move mountains, and yet, the mountains don’t move?

What do you do when healing doesn’t come, the door doesn’t open, or the answer is silence?

I talked with a new friend this morning whose wife transitioned from here toward heaven. We never die, just our bodies do.

He prayed with deep faith for God to heal his wife. But she died. So now what? Was his faith not strong enough? Was God ignoring him?

Or could it be that the outcome, as painful as it was, still fit within God’s loving will? We’re not the first to wrestle with this.

Abraham believed God for something that seemed biologically impossible, descendants through a barren wife in their old age. But his faith wasn’t in the circumstances; it was in God.

The Bible says, “Abraham felt sure that God was able to do what he had promised. So, ‘God accepted Abraham’s faith, and that faith made him right with God.” (Romans 4:22)

Those words (‘God accepted Abraham’s faith’) were written not only for Abraham but also for us.

God will accept us also because we believe in the One who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. Jesus was given to die for our sins, and he was raised from the dead to make us right with God” (Romans 4:21-25 NCV).

Abraham trusted God’s character more than his own understanding.

Faith is not a tool to manipulate God. It’s not a contract that says, “If I believe enough, then You must do what I ask.” Real faith submits to the sovereignty of God.

What is sovereignty?

Sovereignty means God is in complete control. He has the power, wisdom, and right to do whatever He knows is best, even when we don’t understand it. Nothing happens without His knowledge or permission.

Solomon once said: “People can plan what they want to do, but it is the Lord who guides their steps” (Proverbs 16:9 NCV).

The plan belongs to God. Sometimes His plan and our faith line up, like with Abraham. But sometimes our plans and our prayers are met with a different answer. Not because our faith is wrong, but because our understanding is limited.

Isaiah 55:8-9 (NCV) reminds us, “‘The Lord says, “My thoughts are not like your thoughts. Your ways are not like my ways. Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”’”

The Apostle James put it clearly when he said, “You should say, ‘If the Lord wants, we will live and do this or that’” (James 4:15 NCV).

We can make plans. We can pray. We can believe. But in the end, we must surrender. Not because we’re weak, but because we “trust” the One who sees the full picture. He sees our future and our eternity.

LORD, when we think our prayer failed, help us know our faith did not fail. Help us see that you are simply refining our faith. Help us not lose heart. You love us and your ways are best. Help us to accept the mystery in your plan. It’s not always clear. IJNIP amen ♥️