Dear Daisy,
How do we learn to trust a God we can’t see? My life is a mess. I’m growing weary. I have little strength left to go on. If God cares about me, why has He allowed all the pain and suffering in my life? I was raised to believe in Jesus and in the God in Heaven, but I’m having a hard time trusting what I can’t see. Why does following Jesus have to be so hard? I try to trust Jesus but sometimes it’s just not possible. What am I missing? ~ Signed, it’s so hard to trust what I can’t see
Dear it’s so hard to trust what I can’t see,
I’m so glad the Holy Spirit sent you here for answers. Truth be told, having complete faith is not easy for anyone. When the Holy Spirit leads us to Jesus and encourages us to step out in faith and trust Him, it is scary; but it’s important to know that He never once said that we were to do it in our own strength. In fact, it’s quite the opposite; He wants us to lean on Him and depend on His strength in all circumstances.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.“
Proverbs 3:5
When God gives us a command or promise, we can trust that it is possible to achieve with the help of the Holy Spirit. He would not tell us to do something that is not possible, or too hard. Don’t take my word for it, take His.
“This command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you,
and it is not beyond your reach.”
Deuteronomy 30:11
He said it in His Holy Word, so it IS true!
Cling to His truths, ignore the lies from the enemy.
What is faith?
When we invite Jesus into our hearts, that is a big step all on its own. Think about it. We just invited someone we can’t see to move into our hearts. Why? Why would we do that? It’s because your Creator, the God of Heaven, sent His Holy Spirit to prompt your heart to turns toward Him and trust Him. It can be difficult to explain, but when you know, you know.
The enemy wants you to hate Jesus, so when you invite Him into your heart, the enemy will cause you to doubt everything about Jesus and why you want to trust Him. Once you experience the love of Jesus, you don’t want to give that up. That is the love that you were created to crave and have searched your life trying to find. It is important that once you discover the love of Jesus, to cling to Him, keep your eyes on Him, stay in His Holy Word – the Holy Bible everyday. Why? Because it is there that you will find His truth, hope, peace, joy, and where the Holy Spirit can teach you all that you need to know (Jeremiah 33:3, 1John 2:27). It is where you will learn how to armor up with His promises to fight the continuous attacks from the enemy that come at you all day every day (Ephesians 6).
It is also in His Holy Word, that He will teach you about:
- Trusting Him
- Discovering your identity in Him
- How He will refine and prune you
- How the fires and tests in life are for your good
- He warns about life being hard
- How you will be persecuted for your faith
- How the enemy will try to destroy your faith
- How He will teach you how to trust Him in all things
- How if you will obey Him
- He will bless your obedience
- He will protect you
- He will prepare you for battle
- He will walk through the battles with you
- He will walk through the fires with you
- He will walk through the dark valleys with you
- He will fight your battles for you
- How He is always with you
- How to recognize the lies of the enemy
- How to have faith over fear
- How to have hope when it seems hopeless
- How to have peace in the storm
- How to have faith in the process
- How to see the purpose in the pain
- How He will stretch your faith
- How He will teach you to do deeper into His Word
- How He will teach you to have audacious faith through your growing relationship
- How the tough moments are the best moments when we keep the faith
- How to trust the Holy Spirit to be your teacher
- How to see life through His eyes of peace and not fear
That’s just to name a few.
In Hebrews we learn more about faith and how others clung to their faith in God and His promises. God shared these with us to encourage us to hold on, even if we don’t see our prayers answered.
“1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
2 For by it the elders obtained a good report.
3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.”
Hebrews 11:1-8
These are just a few of countless stories of steadfast faith in God’s promises regardless of the outcome. They knew that God is faithful and His promises are true. His timing is perfect. We may not see answers to our prayers, but we can believe that He is working a plan we cannot see and will reveal it in His appointed time, not ours. We must trust His process and His timing.
He is God, we are not.
Dispelling the myths
Let’s take a deeper look at faith using scripture to help you see that His Holy Bible that He breathed for us (2Timothy 3:16-17) is a gift to us as our instruction book for life, that we were never taught to know and trust. Once we commit to making it a priority to turn to His Holy Word everyday for guidance, direction, and to restore our souls with what we need for the day, we will find that having faith in Him is easier than we thought possible.
Myths = lies
Myth #1 – Life should be easy
Myth #2 – Life should be fair
You will NOT find anywhere in scripture where it says that life is easy or fair. You will, however, find throughout scripture that God says we live in a broken and fallen world, that satan is evil, and followers of Jesus will be persecuted for their faith.
The enemy works hard to cause us to believe his lies:
- God doesn’t care about my daily needs
- God won’t forgive me of my sins
- God won’t hear or answer my prayers
- God doesn’t love me
Truth: Gods loves you so much that He breathed an entire Holy Bible to help you see:
- How much He loves you
- Who He created you to be
- And what to expect in this life
A couple of examples:
“O that there were such an heart in them,
that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always,
that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!”
Deuteronomy 5:29
“For God so loved the world,
that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
but have everlasting life.”
John 3:16
“17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”
John 3:17-21
He did it all out of love for you.
Trust Him.
Step out in Faith and don’t look back!
Beware of putting God in a box
When we repent of our sins and give our hearts to Jesus, that is only the beginning of our new life with Him. There is so much to learn and He has so much He wants to teach us. As my Grannie used to say, “we learn til we die.” She was referring to Jesus teaching us something new everyday. We never “arrive,” meaning we never finish learning. We never reach a point where we don’t need to read our Holy Bible anymore, or reach a point where there is nothing else we can learn from God’s Holy Word.
There is so much He wants to teach us that we could spend all day everyday studying for years and we would still learn something new. Take TRUST as an example. With Jesus, we are learning to trust Him in new ways all day everyday. Because satan doesn’t want us to trust Jesus, believers and followers of Jesus are in a constant state of tug-of-war. While we are choosing to trust Jesus in a current moment, the enemy is throwing doubt and fear at us as quickly as he can. Just when you get through one battle and win – trusting Jesus wholeheartedly in a situation, here comes another opportunity to test our faith.
When you experience a victory with Jesus, be aware that we can unknowingly fall into a trap of putting Jesus in a box. What do I mean by that? Here’s an example:
Let’s say, the Holy Spirit lays it on your heart to not take prescription medication for your health needs. He says, trust Me. He tells you to put all your faith and trust in Him, the Great Physician, to heal you and meet your needs. A health need arises and you step out in faith, you pray, and ask God to help you find natural solutions; willingly choosing by faith to trust God, not medical staff. After you look for natural solutions that He leads you to, through the process, your health need is healed. Now, you are excited and celebrating the victory that you didn’t give into fear and run to the doctor, putting your faith in your doctor rather than God.
You will find that after every successful lesson from God,
He will allow you to catch your breath for a minute,
then He is ready to teach you another one.
He loves you too much to leave you where you are!
So, here comes another test of your faith – a deeper faith stretching moment. This time you have a different, more challenging health issue. By faith, you are standing your ground – praying and trusting God to heal you. In your mind, you believe “you’ve got this” because of your last victory.
At this point, you believe you are doing what God told you to do from now on by not take prescription drugs. In your search for natural alternatives and everything you try is not helping at all. You continue to pray and proceed with determination to not take a prescription, instead forge through to conquer this problem with natural alternatives while also praying for God to stop this health issue from progressing. Nothing is working and the health issue is continuing to worsen (for this example – a topical issue you can see progressing). You are suffering, you are in pain, you are finding no relief and you think you are about to lose your mind as you are miserably failing at conquering this issue – while doing what God told you to do in the last health issue.
In your desperation and weakness, you cry out to God defeated and out of ideas. It is in this moment – when you are quiet and no longer trying to “control” the situation doing what you thought He expected of you – that you are finally able to listen and hear His “still small voice” whisper to you.
He whispers softly,
“go get a prescription.”
You gasp and immediately say, “NO! Wait! Lord, did I hear you correctly?” He repeats Himself, “go get a prescription.” You respond, “that’s not what you told me to do. You told me not to take any more prescriptions, and to stop trusting doctors!”
Then He gently and lovingly corrects you and says,
“I told you to trust Me.”
You argue with Him trying to remind Him of your conversation, as if He needs reminding. He patiently lets you vent. Then He says again, “trust Me.” You are confused and telling Him that you are trusting Him, that’s why you aren’t going to get a prescription. Then He says again, “trust Me.” You finally give up trying to reason with Him and stand your ground of “trusting Him” in your way, not His. You cry and say ok. You go get a prescription telling Him the whole time how you feel like a phony after telling everyone you know to trust God not doctors.
You take the medicine and immediately begin to feel better. Then you tell Him you don’t understand.
He gently tells you that He is trying to teach you to trust Him, period. No matter what it looks like. No matter what He tells you to do, do it; even if it doesn’t make sense. You then have a huge AHA moment, a revelation, a moment when God helps you finally see what He is talking about and teaching you in that moment. What you discover is that you put Him in a Box. He told you to trust Him in an area, and you chose to make that your new law for life. In this case, no longer using prescriptions. It wasn’t about the doctor or the prescription, it was about putting your faith and trust in Jesus, not the other two.
Each lesson is unique to teach you something new. It will build upon what has already been taught by Him, but the goal and purpose is to teach us to simply follow Him – wherever He may lead.
By putting Him in a Box after learning a lesson, does not allow Him to teach you something new. It causes you to “be in control” instead of Him. What He is trying to teach us is to step out in faith and never look back. In doing this, we willingly choose to give up all control of our lives and give Him full control. He knows best. He is working a plan for you that you cannot see. In order for Him to carry it out for you, it is imperative that you step out in faith and give Him total control of your life at all times, and never try to be in charge again. There is such indescribable peace in allowing Him to lead while you follow. I pray you find this peace.
Don’t fear the fiery furnace
Have you ever read the story of the three boys in the fiery furnace? When people say the Holy Bible is boring, I just shake my head and say a prayer for God to show them the truth. Only people who haven’t read the entire Holy Bible can say that. Those who study it cover to cover know firsthand that the Holy Bible is the most fascinating book ever written and it was breathed by God, our Creator.
In the book of Daniel, we learn in chapter 3 about three of Daniel’s friends that were being persecuted for not worshipping the King of Babylon’s god idol that he had erected. So angry was the king, that he ordered for them to be thrown into a fiery furnace, after ordering that it be made 7x hotter first. The king gives them one last chance to bow down and worship his man-made idol god, but the boys refused. They told him that even if God didn’t save them from the fire, they would not bow down.
“16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
answered and said to the king,
O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.
17 If it be so,
our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace,
and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.
18 But if not, be it known unto thee,
O king, that we will not serve thy gods,
nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.”
Daniel 3:16-18
One of the greatest examples of faith in our Creator
They were quickly thrown into the fire. The fire was so hot that the men shoving them in were burned alive. Observing intently, the king looks into the fire and suddenly sees four men in the fire. They were talking to each other and not burning. Suddenly the king calls them to come out of the fire, and the three boys walk out unharmed, not burned, and not even smelling like smoke.
“Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.” Daniel 3:28
The king was so astonished by the turn of events that He told the kingdom what had happened and about their mighty God; then promoted the boys in service to the king.
The point of the matter here for you is to step out in audacious faith. Allow Him to test and stretch your faith. Trust your God even if it means persecution, death, or it’s time to be tested in the fiery furnace by God. Stand firm; keep your eyes on Jesus, and be willing to die for your faith in Him.
Never grow content in your current level of faith
Whether you die in the fire or God protects you as He walks you through the testing and purifying fires, keep the faith and He will reward you greatly for your obedience and trust.
New found Faith
Faith is not just a gift from salvation through Jesus, it is an extraordinary super special gift that will be continually tested to stretch it, try it, and make it stronger. This is an opportunity for a mindset shift where you see Him testing your faith as an exercise of His everlasting love for you. It is ever-growing and changing. It was never meant to be a gift that you put in a box and expect it to never change or move.
“The ‘Fires of Faith’ testing
that you will continually walk through
are a gift of love from God;
a gift to not allow you to stay the way you are,
but to grow you into
who He created you to be.”
~ Daisy
Heart check time
Jesus is coming back soon to get His Bride. Let’s make sure your heart is right with Him. Don’t complicate the process for salvation. Keep it simple. Whether you have prayed this before, rededicate your life today and go “all in” with Him – stepping out in with a new view of your gift of faith. It’s time to exercise your faith and allow Him to make it stronger.
Do the ABC’s and repent today.
- A: Admit that you are a sinner. (Romans 3:23, Isaiah 64:6, Ephesians 2:8-9)
- B: Believe in your heart that Jesus is the son of God and that He died for your sins and rose from the dead for you. (John 3:16-18, 1Corinthians 15:1-4)
- C: Call on Jesus and repent of your sins and turn back to Him and ask Jesus to show you the way. (Romans 10:9-13, John 14:6)
In closing,
Always ask Jesus what you should do in every situation. The Holy Spirit will lead you and guide you. If it’s not okay with Him, He will check your spirit and you will have an uneasy feeling and doubt about going forward. Always follow Jesus; NOT your heart; our hearts are fickle and can’t be trusted. Listen to the Holy Spirit; He is trying to protect you. You have a choice to obey or ignore. Choose to obey and stay under His protection.
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick;
who can understand it?”
Jeremiah 17:9
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.“
Proverbs 3:5
“When you know you grow!”
Take note:
“I am not your teacher, the Holy Spirit is.
I’m just the messenger leading you back to Jesus and His truth.”
Daisy Hawkins
~ 1John 2:27, Jeremiah 33:3