FAITH BEYOND UNDERSTANDING

John 11:21 (ERV)
Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

We live in a time when natural disasters, failed economies, and poverty have resulted in many deaths and great tragedies that so many have been led to ask questions like: If God is truly in charge of things, why would He allow such to happen?

From our text, Martha may have sounded, due to her sorrow as humble in expressing herself but nonetheless, like so many (believers and nonbelievers alike), it was said in ignorance and in a way tried to impugn the faithfulness of God.

While it is good to empathize and sympathize with others in tragedy, we must be careful not to err or join them to err against God because of grief. God owes no man any explanation and for one to question God’s faithfulness in a manner that presumes God as answerable to man, is one giving in to the flesh (Matt 12:45-46, Job 42:1-6, Rom 11:35).

Even if our time and effort utilized in serving God haven’t translated into our desired earthly outcome, we must believe that God remains faithful. We may never understand the whys but His faithfulness is revealed in us when by faith, we put our focus on the eternal, above and beyond our own physical redemption (Read Job 19:25-26, Ps 16:8-11, Dan 3:16-18, Lk 23:40-43, Acts 7:56-60, 1Cor 4:16-18, Heb 11:35b).

Go into today encouraged that though your trials may feel overwhelming now, God has promised that He will never leave you (Jn 16:33, Isa 43:2, Heb 13:5).