Strangely, in my life, I have many friends who are into cars. They would go to shows at Dover Raceway to see the best and fastest vehicles on the island. They could look at a car and tell you its make and model. You would think they were part of the Fast and Furious movies. Lately, I have been trying to test my skills and knowledge, but it has not been going well. The truth is, I know very little about cars. What I do know, however, is that cars need fuel or petrol to run. Without fuel, there is a chance that the vehicle will stall and get damaged. Similarly, as humans, if we are to wait for a miracle from God, we need some kind of fuel to sustain us. That fuel is faith.
So, what is this faith?
Simply put, it is believing in someone or something to do what it is designed or destined to do. For example, when we sit on chairs, we believe that they will support us, so we place faith in them. At this point, I am having faith that your device does not freeze or shut down while you are reading this content. Believe it or not, we all place faith in something every day, even when we do not see it.
Having faith in God is really hard work, especially when things are not going as planned. Psalm 42 illustrates this perfectly. The Psalmist in this passage was struggling with what was happening in his life. He longed for God, missed worshipping in the temple, and fellowshipping with the saints. He had been crying, stressed out, mocked by people, and more. This Scripture reflects what is happening to us today. The world is in crisis. People are losing their lives and livelihoods. School and work are challenging. Life is difficult. We cry, we are stressed out, and we may be mocked and jeered by others. God seems silent, and we wonder when we will hear from Him. It is now out of our hands. So, what can we do? There are two specific things the writer mentioned in the passage that will help us navigate using faith as fuel while waiting for a miracle from God.
The first thing is choosing to believe in God above our circumstances. The writer was struggling and felt the weight of depression. However, he encouraged himself to trust God in the midst of negative experiences and feelings. There was something about God that made the writer take that stance. Everything was going wrong, and there was no guarantee that things would return to normal. Why did he choose to still praise God in the middle of the chaos? He said he would hope in and praise God because He is his Savior and his God. The word “my” suggests something personal, as if the writer had a deep and meaningful friendship with God. Having a relationship with God is important. In fact, it is the very reason why Jesus came in the flesh. He came to meet our greatest need. Furthermore, the term “Saviour” implies that their God was a Deliverer. No matter what, they would be delivered from the terrible situation. And the term “God” suggests that this Saviour was still in control. It’s beautiful to know that in the midst of our waiting, we don’t have to be passive. We don’t have to fold our arms in anxiety. We can choose to believe in someone who is a close friend, a deliverer, and has the world in His hands. It’s a solid assurance.
The second thing is choosing to believe in God because of His track record. The writer chose to remember all the things that God had done in the past for them and His proven character. In the 2016 Rio Olympics, we cheered for Usain Bolt to win the Athletics 100m Men competition because he had won in the previous two Olympic games. Surely, he could handle the big stage and deliver again. It is the same with God, and even more so. For the sons of Korah, believing in God was a bit difficult, as shown in the Scripture, because He seemed absent. However, they chose to remember how He positively moved in their lives regardless. God’s faithfulness still stood amid their despair. Even in a depressive situation, the writer believed that God would be an ever-present help in his time of trouble. Likewise, we can choose to have faith in Him because He has not failed to deliver what He has promised. His promises are never empty. He does not forget them, nor does He take back His words. Instead, according to His riches in glory, He meets our needs. We can rest in that truth today.
If we ever needed the Lord before, we certainly need Him now. But we need to do our part by learning from this Scripture. The situations might be difficult right now, but we should use them as stepping stones. Having faith does not mean we are shunning or dismissing that something is wrong. It just means we are choosing to face reality with God by our side. God welcomes our honesty about our realities. It is through these moments that we realize we must depend on the grace of God to make it through. Friends, be encouraged. Let us choose to believe in God above our various circumstances because He will come through for us on His terms. As we wait for our miracles from Him, let us hold on. After all, “The Lord will send His faithful love by day. His song will be with me in the night” (Psalm 42:8). Be assured today that God is good, and He is worth believing in. I pray that we all will experience positive change soon, as He wills.