Faith Despite Circumstances

By: Grace Metzger

Blessed is the one who perseveres
under trial because, having stood the test,
 that person will receive the crown of life that
the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
James 1:12 NIV

Leading up to Easter, I've been reading the story of Jesus' resurrection a over and over. One thing that got me thinking was the disciples' reactions to Jesus being alive. It says in Matthew 28:17 "When they saw Him, they worshiped, but some doubted." When I read that verse I was quick to judge the eleven men. This is the man who they called their friend, their teacher, who they traveled with for so long. Yet they not only doubted Mary Magdalene when she told them He was alive, but they also had doubts when they saw Jesus with their own eyes. Thomas, one of the disciples, even said in John 20:25 "If I don't see the mark of the nails in His hand, put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will never believe." 

It's very easy to judge them for their lack of faith, I know I did. But when I placed myself in their shoes I began to question if I would act any differently if I was in their situation. They witness Jesus' death and His burial. They saw the giant stone get moved in front of the tomb. In worldly standards this would have been the end. If this were a different person, there would be no doubt in our mind that they were dead. 

But we aren't talking about worldly standards, we're talking about Heavenly standards. The disciples witness Jesus do amazing thing, even bringing people back from the dead. They knew that through God, death doesn't have to be the end. Yet, when they heard that Jesus was alive, they still had doubt.

The devil loves moments like these, when the worldly ways go so differently than the Heavenly ways. It makes it easy to place small seeds of doubt in our minds. Those small seeds have the ability to grow and take over our mind, like weeds. Once they take over it's easy to forget God's promises, His faithfulness, and His power. 

This doesn't mean we just give up and allow this to happen. In proverbs it tells us how to fight this, Proverbs 3:5 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding."

Do not lean on your own understanding is amazing advice! When our circumstances are starting to overwhelm us and we think nothing can be done we aren't trusting in God but trusting in our own wisdom. Unfortunately, our wisdom is quite flawed and often incorrect. But God's wisdom is never wrong. 1 Corinthians 1:25 says "Because God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom." I love that verse! It reminds us that God's wisdom is so much better then ours.

Trusting in God and His wisdom is how we can remain faithful in our belief. We can forget what the worlds says about our circumstances and trust in God's plan. He has always been faithful and He will always be faithful. The world might tell us how it thinks things are going to be, that we are going to remain sick, that our situation isn't going to change, etc. But thanks to our Heavenly Father we don't have to believe in anything the world tells us. We are able to remain faithful no matter what we go through and God is going to remain faithful to us no matter what we go through. God is in control not the world!