“For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God” (2 Corinthians 1:20).
A young woman calls on the phone in tears. “I pray and pray and pray about this problem,” she says, “Prayer just doesn’t work! This has gone on for eight years now. Nothing changes. I can’t take it any longer! I’ve had it!”
A friend, recently widowed, now struggles with trusting God. “Three times God gave me assurance that my husband would be healed,” she said. “Each time it was from the chapter I was reading in my quiet time. Yet he died. How can I find guidance from the Bible in the future? How can I trust God’s promises?”
Well, what about those promises? Jesus said, “If two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven” (Matthew 18:19). He also said, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7).
But what if instead of the door opening, it gets slammed in your face? What if you ask and ask and ask, and nothing changes?
My wife and I had promised our kids a certain outing—and then, unavoidably, we had to change the plans. “But you promised,” they reminded us, with disappointment and disbelief written all over their faces. “How can you do that, when you promised?”
To be honest, I don’t have all the answers. But I do read in John 14:1 that Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God,” and it’s that word “trust” that stands out to me. Yes, trust is easy when you can see what God is doing in your life and why He is doing it. “When the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians,” wrote Moses, “the people feared the LORD and [they] put their trust in him” (Exodus 14:31).
It’s easy to trust when God answers your prayer: He says “Yes,” Or when, like the song in Oklahoma, you can sing, “Oh what a beautiful morning … everything’s going my way.”
But trusting when you can’t see why your prayer is not answered the way you asked for: that’s a different matter. Yet, as hard as it seems, when you get right down to it, that’s what trusting is about. The real test of trust comes when:
- You’re disillusioned and depressed
- You’re disappointed with God
- The hurt and pain don’t go away
- You’re groping in darkness for direction for the next step
Once Jesus gave a very difficult teaching, and the Bible says many were offended because of what He said. “From this time,” said John, “many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. ‘You [don’t] want to leave too, do you?’ Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life’“ (John 6:66-68).
In the end it really comes down to that: If you don’t hold on to your faith and to Jesus Christ, to whom will you go? The alternatives are not very good. No, the only thing to do when you feel God didn’t answer the way you thought He would, is to hold on, “Trust in the Lord with all [of] your heart and [don’t lean to] your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5).
I’ve lived long enough to see that in the end, God chooses what is best for us and His glory. If you hold on to Him, “the God of hope [will] fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13). It’s the hope that eventually fills your heart when you trust Him in the middle of your disappointment. Psalm 56:3 says: “When I am afraid, I will trust in you.” “When I’m afraid” is exactly the time when I do need to trust Him the most.
Resource reading: Hebrews 11:13-16.
